


A WILD RIDE: One Shots of The 100

by SwimFreak31



Category: The 100, The 100 (TV)
Genre: Camp Jaha | Arkadia, F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M, Mount Weather, Multi, Post-Mount Weather, Sanctum (The 100)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-04
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:28:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 12
Words: 27,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26805865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SwimFreak31/pseuds/SwimFreak31
Summary: As the title suggests…A series of unconnected one shots from my wild mind that popped up while I was watching The 100 or re-watching The 100. Some of these work in canon and some are canon divergent. I'm pulling one shots from all Seven seasons of the TV show. There's a little blip before each chapter to set you up for what to expect. Not sure where all of these are going, but one day we'll get there.I'll take suggestions, but no promises on what will happenAKA My way of coping with the end of The 100
Relationships: Abby Griffin & Clarke Griffin, Abby Griffin & Eric Jackson, Abby Griffin/Marcus Kane, Bellamy Blake & John Murphy, Bellamy Blake & Marcus Kane, Bellamy Blake/Clarke Griffin, Bryan/Nathan Miller, Emori/John Murphy (The 100), Eric Jackson/Nathan Miller, Jasper Jordan/Maya Vie, Monty Green/Harper McIntyre, Octavia Blake/Lincoln
Comments: 13
Kudos: 31





	1. Delinquents: Favorite Foods

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Delinquents in Mount Weather (no exact episode)
> 
> This came out of a conversation between a friend and myself about our favorite foods from the dining hall. Right now, college feels very “Mount Weather-y”, as we're constantly being watched and reprimanded, and rarely going outside. Also, due to the nature of my college, we can get most places without going outside, so it very much feels like some sort of post-apocalyptic universe where we all have to stay inside all day and going outside requires preparation (mask, raincoat, ID, etc...). My friends and I are adjusting by finding little things we deem “favorites” (activities, food, places, classes, books, etc...)
> 
> Anyways………….. I may just be overthinking this.

There was no such thing as favorite food on the Ark. Everything was bland and dull, just enough necessary nutrients to keep you going. Sure, there were some foods that were better than others, but nobody had favorites. You accepted what you got and moved on.

It wasn’t until Mount Weather that the delinquents were introduced to the idea of favorite food. Having plentiful food, to the point of excess, was a shock, let alone the idea that anyone could pick a single favorite food. They were served an alternating menu, three meals a day. So many dishes went half eaten or shared as they tried to taste everything before their world changed (as they all guessed it inevitably would). Citizens of Mount Weather tried to remind them to slow down and savor the food they had in front of them, but they were so eager and impatient to try everything that few took this suggestion to heart. They ate and shared and compared and laughed their way through all the food they could. Each of them had picked out a few favorites, but a singular choice of favorite food never crossed their minds.

It was not until Maya mentioned something about her favorite food being pizza that it crossed any of their minds. They all asked her questions. How had she picked one food? How did she know it was her favorite? If it was her favorite, why didn’t she eat it every meal? What made it her favorite? What factors went into choosing a single favorite food? Maya laughed off the questions, gently telling them that it was something inside that decided it. They would know when they found their favorite foods.

And slowly they did.

Nobody found out what Clarke’s favorite food was. She was gone before they could get a straight answer from her about her favorite food. She had developed a preference towards the stews cooked up by the kitchen, but that was all she had really eaten in her time at Mount Weather, so they guessed that she would have said that, given the opportunity.

Jasper’s favorite food was chocolate cake. It made him think of the first time he and Maya had really met. She had offered him the last slice of chocolate cake, one she had been saving for herself. The cake itself was good, one hundred times better than anything he had ever eaten on the Ark, but the reason it was really his favorite was the person who he had first shared a piece with. Every time he took a bite he thought of her, of a moment they shared, of spending time with each other, of being happy. Little memories slipped in and out when he ate. Maya teased him for being a romantic. He wore the title with pride. He insisted on maintaining chivalry while around her, even though it was long past a time where chivalry was common. He would race to open doors, hold her back to pull out chairs, and let her go first in line for everything. And she loved it. The thing that got her was when Jasper would retrieve her a slice of chocolate cake after dinner, fighting off everyone else who wanted a piece so she would get one, even if he did not. Because, through chocolate cake, he learned to savor the things that he loved while he had them.

Monty’s favorite food was salad. It was stereotypical. The boy from Farm Station liked plants. He was ready for comments and quips from the others, but they did not come. It was like they understood. Being on the ground, in Mount Weather, with abundant freedoms, was disorienting to kids who had come from a place where tiny mistakes could mean your end. Everyone wanted to hold onto the pieces of familiarity that they could. Feeling leaves on his tongue, it was as close as he could get to being back on Farm Station would his friends and parents and the familiar world of the Ark. It was his familiar something, what he held onto when there was nothing else.

Miller’s favorite food was mac and cheese. Jasper teased him about it relentlessly. In Mount Weather and on the TV shows he’d watched, mac and cheese had a reputation for being a “kid food”. For Miller, the simplicity of the food was what drew him in. It was not the complicated meals everyone else adored. It was something he could make by himself, given time and resources. One day, he promised himself, he would make it for Bryan. One day, far off in the future, he would impress his boyfriend with the one thing he knew how to do well.

Harper’s favorite food was tofu. She found it fascinating. It was a contradiction in itself. The first time she had tried it, she had been surprised at the mix of texture and flavor. The others around her had found it gross, or simply bearable, but she loved it. It was a bit of a contradiction in itself. Every time she ate it, it took a different shape and taste. She loved its adaptability, changing to the situation at hand. It could be eaten with any meal, with any combination of flavors, and still be delicious to her. That adaptability is what Harper craved in her life. She wished she was tofu.

Others had their favorites too. Fox had declared one day, mid-meal, that she loved bread more than anything else in the world. Deke was first in line at pizza night, going back for as many trips as he could fit in his stomach (his record was eight slices, which left him feeling sick for days). Mary liked eggs, though none of the delinquents were sure if it was real eggs or fake and no one had the guts to ask. Chocolate was Sam’s big weakness. He would go after anything laced with it. Boyd, a slightly frightening, very tall, nearly silent eighteen year old who had been accused of murder, pulled Monty aside one day to admit he loved pickles (an interaction that had initially caused Monty to panic). Andrew liked plain pasta, which Jasper felt matched his personality. And a petite, short blonde named Anna had interrupted their conversation one day to insist that French fries were, in fact, the superior food. All the delinquents had opinions like this.

When they left the bunker, things changed. After Mount Weather, there were no more “favorite foods”. There was too much trauma. There were less choices. There was a change in the way the delinquents thought, shifting back to the ‘stay alive’ mentality they had developed at the dropship. No more favorites, just survival.


	2. Jackson/Miller: After the Red Sun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Intro: Post 6x02 Mackson moment and more.(Spoilers for season 7)
> 
> Mackson deserved more time on screen.

Abby’s hand tapping his cheek was the first thing he felt.

“Eric? Eric?”

His head was groggy. What had happened? He remembered the red sun toxin, being chained up, then…

He fought to sit up, his muscles and Abby protesting.

“Nate…” he slurred.

“He’s fine, he's still asleep”

“No, I…” Jackson shook his head, clearing the fog. “Abby, I…”

He looked at her desperately. He did not know what to say. Hurting people was not what he did, even by accident or under the influence. And yet here he was, having hurt the person he loved most in the world. ‘You thought you were saving him' a little voice nagged in the back of his head. ‘Nate will understand. He knows you would never hurt him’

‘Does he?’

Jackson tried to push the comment away. It was too late. Panic filled his chest.

“Abby, I hurt him”

On the other side of the room, Miller stirred. Jackson stared at Abby, desperate for advice. 

“Go to him”

The words were all he needed. Before he realized, he was at Miller’s side. Miller opened his eyes slowly, feeling the same way that Jackson had when he had woken up. The moment Miller was lucid enough to remember what had happened, he caught Jackson’s eyes. He tried to scramble away, wary of the doctor leaning over him. Jackson’s heart broke at the panic.

“Nate, I’m…” he did not finish the sentence, because he did not know what to say. A part of him screamed at him to apologize, to beg for forgiveness until he gets it and keep begging until he bribes it in him. Another part told him that he doesn’t need to apologize, he was just trying to help, to save Nate. A third part sat silent, telling him nothing, but in a way it told him everything. “If you don’t want to…”

He could not finish the sentence. Knowing what he was going to say next, his eyes welled up with tears. The pile of rocks in the pit of his stomach gained some weight, making him feel like he’s going to throw up. He swallowed it down anyway, pushing through what he needs to say.

“If you want to break up with me, I understand”

He left it at that. No more needed to be said. Miller looked at him like he was crazy, which he felt was probably true in part. 

Miller did not know how to react. He fished for words, opening and closing his mouth in attempts to find what fit. He wanted something profound, a sentence to fix their relationship. Nothing came to him.

He went with simple instead. Rising to his feet, he reached his arms out and nodded. They had created a physical language in the bunker. Sometimes, they had found, the less words the better. His invitation meant Jackson had to be the one to close the space, to choose him. Because Miller had already accepted his apology. 

Jackson was hesitant to step into the hug. He felt afraid. Afraid that something would happen and they would be pushed apart in a way that could not just simply be resolved with a hug or ‘I’m sorry’ or an unspoken agreement. But in that moment, Miller was offering forgiveness, and he would take it.

When he stepped into the hug, he noticed a few things. Somebody, likely Abby or maybe Clarke, had bandaged the wound on Miller’s arm. The one he put there. It's a relief to know he won’t have to patch up something he inflicted, but he also regrets that he was not there to help his boyfriend when he needed it. He caused the pain, he should have patched it up too. ‘You were unconscious’ the nagging voice reminds him. ‘There’s nothing you could have done.’ He still felt guilty. 

Another thing strikes his mind. He is so used to being the dominant one in the relationship that Miller leading is a shock. He’s older, more certain, and more experienced, so he usually dominated in the relationship. He was the one who provided the comfort when Miller was distressed. And now, it was the other way around. He wanted to fight it, to move his arms to be on top, but something inside told him not too. Miller needed this as much as he did, and if he tried to fight it he might scare away his boyfriend. His boyfriend, the last person in the universe that was truly his.

So he stopped thinking and just hugged Miller back.

He had no idea how much time passed before they were interrupted. A pair of unfamiliar hands grabbed him and insisted they go somewhere. He latched onto Miller, who insisted they were not going anywhere. Abby interjected there, assuring them that it was okay. They followed, not letting the other out of reach. Clarke, Bellamy, and the others were waiting outside surrounded by the same guards. These guards escorted them into a tavern, where they were to stay for now. They were safe for now.

The safety did not last for long. They were split up and fighting for their lives again before they knew what was happening. Everything that happened swirled in Jackson’s head as he looked back on the time before. The chaos of the finely kept balance in Sanctum. Sending Miller off to the anomaly, not knowing if he would come back safe. Reunited, only to be separated again in the bunker collapse. And all the people they lost: Abby, Kane, Gabriel, Bellamy, Madi, and so many more names that Jackson did not know or could not remember. 

Sitting on the beach, with only the fourteen people who had chosen to stay, it began to weigh on everyone. Jackson often found himself unable to sleep, his mind spinning too fast to allow any rest. He would lie next to Miller until he was certain he was asleep, then would sneak off somewhere to stare out over the water. Murphy would occasionally join him and they would chat about whatever came to mind. His first impressions of Murphy had led him to hate the man, but with time Murphy had grown on him, bit by bit, until he was almost a friend. Their lakeside chats strengthened the bond and allowed them to clear the air about what had happened with Emori. Murphy brought up the subject one night, apologizing profusely for yelling at him for not saving Emori and being snippy at Jackson when he reunited with Miller in the lab. Jackson forgave him without a second thought. He also apologized for being terse with Murphy initially and not being able to save Emori, which Murphy assured him it was not his fault, no matter how much he had blamed Jackson for it. Sitting by the lake, knowing they were the end of the human race, made it easy to clear the air between them. 

Some nights were interrupted by Miller’s screams. Since things had calmed down, he had been experiencing nightmares nearly every night. Sometimes it was flashes of Mount Weather, or time in the bunker, or the time spent at the dropship, or the events that had happened in Becca’s lab. The worst nights were the ones where he would wake up from a nightmare about the red sun. Jackson made it a priority to be there for his boyfriend when he needed him, but in the nights where the nightmare was about the red sun he was useless. He would sit and watch with an aching heart as Miller scrambled away from him and started muttering about the bugs. After he had let Miller calm down on his own, Jackson would sit next to him as he tried not to cry. Every night Miller would apologize for the nightmare. Every night Jackson would assure him that he did not need to apologize and that he would get better given time. 

Jackson was right. With time, everyone got better. Echo dropped her guard bit by it until she was open and confident. Clarke smiled more and more every day. Indra would drop little quips here and there, something that all came to appreciate. Hope and Jordan became a part of their little family. Even Miller’s nightmares subsided to an occasional event every month or so. Eventually, Murphy and Jackson’s lakeside chats died down from nightly to randomly, when the two of them needed some fresh air.

It was not perfect, but it was good.


	3. Roverkru: Snow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This takes place sometime between seasons two and three. I always loved the idea of Kane and Abby being parental to the delinquents post-Mount Weather. I also loved the idea that the group that went out on patrols in the rover (a.k.a. Roverkru) had memories and shared experiences out on patrol which brought them closer as a team. Plus, I was lowkey mad we never had winter scenes in The 100. 
> 
> Also, Bob Morley used to call Henry Ian Cusick “dad” and Henry Ian Cusick would call Bob Morley “son’’.
> 
> Warning: it’s really long

Lincoln had warned them the snow was coming.

He had been right.

It did not look like snow when the rover left to go out on the mapping mission. Lincoln had pulled Bellamy, Abby, and Kane aside and explained to them what the incoming storm would mean for the team if they were stuck out in the snow for too long. He suggested that they postpone the mission or, at the least, send him with them under the promise that he would stay hidden in the back of the rover. That plan had been immediately vetoed by everyone else involved. Though sternly forewarned, Bellamy asked to follow through with the mission. The rover could handle the snow, he claimed. If it got too bad, they would hunker down in the rover and wait out the snow. Kane had protested, nervous something would go seriously wrong and the team would be out of reach of help from Arkadia. Which meant it was left up to Abby to decide what she wanted to do. 

Abby decided to send the team anyway. 

In retrospect, she was pretty sure she was influenced in part by Clarke’s absence and growing worry that her daughter would not survive the winter. No matter the reason, she had decided the risk was worth it. That did not stop her from collecting the team and lecturing them before they left. She worried about them, every time they left. She let that worry show as she warned them of the risks and made each of them verbally promise that no stupid risks would be taken and that each member of the team would voice any worried the moment they arose. They all agreed, seemingly impatient to get out of Arkadia and into the open expanse of the wilderness

Kane and Lincoln had shown up moments before the rover was supposed to leave carrying extra blankets and jackets for the whole crew. The initial protests were silenced by a look from Bellamy as he took the materials provided to him by Kane. They shared a look. Kane looked worried, as though he wanted to protest against them leaving, again, but said nothing publically. Instead, he pulled Bellamy aside.

“First sign of trouble, of snow, and you come right back,” Kane’s voice was soft. Bellamy nodded in agreement. “And if anything goes wrong, you radio back. I’ll have someone on the radio the whole time. Anything happens, radio back immediately. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir” Bellamy turned to his team.

Kane did not look happy, but nodded.

The trip out of Arkadia was fairly uneventful. In fact, most of the mapping run was fairly simple. The rover was not going too far from Arkadia, a compromise Bellamy and Abby had decided upon to allow them to leave at all. They stayed close and together, never letting the rover leave their sight.

This was not their first snow. There had been light flurries a few times before. They had been a welcome relief to the monotony of life in Arkadia. The storms had dropped enough snow to gently coat the ground, along with providing entertainment for Arkadians of all ages. It was light and fluffy and dreamy. The next day, Lincoln had pulled the elected council aside and given them the run down of how snow worked, stating the risks along with the benefits and cautioning them that the winter ahead would bring heavier, dangerous snow. 

So, when snow began to fall lightly where the rover was briefly parked, the team enjoyed it. It was reminiscent of the soft flurries they had seen before, but Bellamy knew that it could change in an instant. The snow picked up in intensity, not enough to frighten the team but enough to make Bellamy worried. He left his team playing in the snow and went back to Rover to radio.

“This is Rover one to Arkadia, do you read?”

There was static for a few moments, then a soft voice on the other end. “I read you”

It was Kane, his voice sounding tired and beaten.

“Sir, it’s started snowing here. We’re going to wrap up and head back to Arkadia”

“Copy that. Stay safe and radio in at the first sign of trouble. We’ll be waiting”

By the time Bellamy set down the radio, the snow had picked up substantially. It was much heavier than the flurries and powederings that they had become accustomed to. He felt a pang of dread down in the bit of his stomach. 

“In the rover!” He shouted across the distance. The team turned back towards him, making their way back slowly. The snow was getting heavier by the minute and Bellamy was genuinely starting to get worried. Lincoln was right. The snow was coming and they were not ready. 

The rest of the team seemed to sense this too and hurried towards the rover. They were shivery and wet and eager to find some warmth. Crawling in, Bellamy started up the rover and they shot off towards Arkadia.

They were never going to make it. The rover could handle snow, but not at the rate it was coming down. The rover was heating them, but the heat barely reached the passengers before fading to a warm breeze. The rover had lights, but in the blinding snow they became useless. Bellamy pushed the rover as fast as he dared in the white out of the storm. He swerved in and out of the trees. He was pushing to get them home as fast as he could. 

One tree came at him particularly fast. He swerved without thinking, cutting to the left of the tree. The rover lost its grip on the ground, sliding sideways into a ditch. Bellamy did what he could to minimize the slide. They ended up in a ditch. Bellamy pushed the engines, trying to get them out but they were stuck. 

“What's going on?” Miller asked from behind him.

“We're stuck in a ditch,” Bellamy said, eyeing the radio. He did not want to call, since Arkadia could do nothing for them and he did not need one of Kane’s lectures or Lincoln’s ‘I-told-you-so’s. 

“What's the plan?” Miller slid into the front seat, lowing his voice. Bellamy followed his gaze.

The others were shivering, unable to keep enough body heat to prevent their body temperatures from dropping. Raven and Jasper were shivering the worst, though Monty, Octavia, and Miller were shivering enough to worry Bellamy. Even he was shivering. 

“We have two options. We ride out the storm in the rover or we make for the dropship,” Bellmay said flatly.

“I say we wait,” Raven’s voice was shaky. She seemed to be struggling the most of everyone. Her words were rushed, each moment her mouth was open resulting in more lost heat. “The rover will keep us warm”

“Yeah, for how long?” Jasper countered. He too was struggling to keep his words together. “Snowstorm equals no sun. We’ll run out of power soon”

“Drop ship has no heating,” Octavia quipped. “But it does have insulation”

“I'm calling Arkadia,” Bellamy decided. “Keep talking without me”

He turned to the radio. With shaky fingers he turned it on and held it close to his lips.

“Kane?”

For a moment there was silence. The others in the rover froze too, waiting for a response.

“Bellamy, where are you?”

It was Abby, not Kane, who answered.

“We’re stuck in a ditch near the dropship. We can’t make it back”

“Is Clarke with you?” Abby’s voice sounded hopeful. Bellamy hated himself for a moment. He had not found Clarke. He had let her down.

“No”

“Oh,” Abby was disappointed. Her voice gave her away. “I’ll get Marcus”

There was silence. Bellamy felt a breath against his ear and turned back to see the whole crew pressed up together against the back of the seats. Bellamy was thankful for the warmth it provided, but annoyed by the presence of five others pressed so close.

“Bellamy?” Kane’s gravelly voice elicited a sigh of relief from Bellamy. Just knowing he was there, that his mind was working the problem lifted a huge burden from Bellamy. “Bellamy? Are there? Are you alright? What’s happening?”

“I’m here,” he suspected a similar sigh of relief on the other end of the line. “We’re stuck in a ditch not too far from the dropship. The rover is losing power quickly and some of our people…”

He glanced back to Raven, whose lips were turning blue.

“...some of our people aren’t doing too well”

Kane was quick to respond. “Okay, Bellamy. It's good to hear you’re all still alive for right now. How are conditions outside?”

Bellamy glanced outside. “Snow is coming down pretty hard. Nearly all white. Just the outlines of trees and the dropship in the distance”

“Sounds about the same as here,” another voice sounded in the background. Bellamy could not grasp who it was before the radio went silent, but it was male and familiar. “How much time do you have left on the rover?”

“An hour,” the idea frightened Bellamy more than he let on. The heaters would die in an hour, maybe less, and without them the team would freeze. The radio ran on a separate system with a backup battery, so it would outlast them. Kane would be able to listen to them freeze and not be able to do anything but sit helplessly.

Kane must have sensed his panic. “Bellamy, stay calm. It's plenty of time to figure out a plan. Just stay calm and do what you can to keep the team warm. You still have the blankets I gave you, right?”

Bellamy nodded.

“Bellamy, you still have the blankets, right?”

The two voices in the background on Kane’s side registered in Bellamy’s head. Abby and Lincoln, working on a plan. They always figured something out.

Bellamy let out a hoarse ‘yes’.

“Good. Make sure everyone is wrapped up with as much as you can find. You’ll get them through this, Bellamy”

He would get them through this because he was the team leader and they were his team. Kane had trusted him with that. “Yes, sir”

“Bellamy,” Kane’s voice was cautious this time, “make sure you’re taking care of yourself too”

At that moment he noticed he was shivering. He accepted the blanket his sister passed him and wrapped it around his shoulders. It provided some extra warmth, trapping what little body heat escaped his body. 

“Bellamy?” Lincoln’s voice was a surprise to Bellamy. “You’re not going to outlast the storm on an hour’s worth of power. Listen, you need to head for the dropship. Take the firebox and keep the blankets as dry as possible, even if it means taking them off in the snow”

The fire box. How had he forgotten the firebox? A simple precaution for if they ever needed a quick and easy fire. It was meant for a moment like this.

“Why don't we just use it in the rover?” Bellamy asked. 

“No,” Abby was stern and harsh and Bellamy immediately abandoned the idea. “You’d be dead from smoke inhalation before the fire even had a chance to warm you”

Bellamy nodded to Monty, who grabbed the box and hugged it close to his chest.

“Okay, anything else before we dash for the dropship?”

“Take the radio. That way you can radio if anything goes wrong” Kane, always the rational voice. “Radio back the moment everyone is safe and stable”

“Okay. We’ll be radio silent until we get the chance to set it up in the dropship” There was an unspoken agreement in his words that his team came before the radio. Every single member of his team would be cared for before Bellamy even thought to radio back to Kane.

“Bellamy, you can do this,” Kane said.

“We’re going radio silent. Talk to you in a bit” Bellamy switched off the radio, turning to his team. “Here’s the plan. We make for the drop ship. The moment we get there, Miller, you need to light the firebox”

He watched as it passed from Monty to Miller. 

“Monty, I need you to get the radio working again once we’re in there,” he passed the radio back to Monty, who gently dropped it in his bag. “Once we’re in there, I need all of you to strip off all of your wet clothes, then focus on getting warm. I’ll take care of hanging them up. Are we clear?”

He got shaky nods from all but Raven. 

“Raven?” When he caught her face in full light, his heart sank. Her eyes were unfocused and her lips were blue. She had stopped shivering and just sat stiff as a board. Bellamy crawled into the back, reaching around her to pull her towards him. “I’m going to carry Raven”

Octavia moved in worry, but Bellamy stopped her.

“Bell, are you sure?”

He nodded once to Octavia, then opened the rover door. 

The cold hit them immediately. Bellamy was the last one out, making sure everyone else made it out before grabbing Raven and slamming the rover door shut. He dashed through the snow, not too far behind the other. Reaching the drop ship, he dropped Raven to the ground, then lifted the door. 

Inside the drop ship, the plan seemed to be working. The rest of the team had stripped off the wet layers of clothing and had shrugged on a blanket or one of the spare jackets. Monty and Miller were doing their jobs perfectly. 

Bellamy then turned his attention to Raven. Octavia was doing what she could to get the wet clothes off, but Raven was not responding. Bellamy knelt down to help his sister. Once they had gotten her clothes off, they wrapped her with everything they could spare, including some of the stuff they had left in the drop ship. Raven started shivering again, which Bellamy was not sure if it was a good sign, but he sent his sister off to warm herself up. He moved her to besides the fire Miller had built, putting her as close as he deemed safe. 

“Monty, how’s the radio coming?” 

“Almost there!” Monty connected the last few wires and stepped back. “Ready!”

“Stay with her!” Bellamy ordered Miller, pointing towards Raven. Monty handed him the radio. “Kane, do you copy?” 

“I’m here Bellamy,” Kane sounded relieved.

“We made it to the drop ship, but Raven isn’t doing so great,” Bellamy looked back to Raven, who had not improved since he left her. She almost looked as if she were getting worse. “I think she’s hypothermic”

On the other side, the radio switched hands to Abby. “Bellamy, there’s not much you can do other than keep her as warm as possible and monitor her condition”

And that’s what they did. Those who were warm enough alternated turns holding onto Raven, hoping the combined body heat would warm her. It seemed to work and Raven became more lucid over time. The others alternated calls on the radio. Monty spoke with Sinclair about the state of the rover and how they planned to get it going again. Sargent David Miller had called to speak with his son, wanting to hear him say that he was okay. Lincoln and Octavia spoke the grounder language over the radio about whatever topics they needed to discuss. 

Mostly it stayed silent. Jasper was asleep in minutes, sprawled on the hard metal floor. Monty and Miller share some of the food. They then both proceeded to some of the remaining hammocks they had spent the first few weeks in and fell asleep. Octavia stared at the fire. They had to wait out the storm.

At one point, Kane radioed to let him know that the snow had let up just enough for a team to get them. By then, Raven was aware enough to sit up and eat some food. She had quipped about home being oddly close to her nearly naked while he had been talking with Kane, which resulted in an awkward chuckle from Bellamy and a laugh from Kane. At that point, Kane had signed off and promised to radio once they were closer to the drop ship. Bellamy was not surprised to hear he would be on the mission. Kane had lectured him on “lead by example” at least once a week since he picked up his little team. There were expectations to be upheld when you worked for Marcus Kane. 

It was two hours before Kane radioed back to the team, telling them that their backup was nearly there. Bellamy directed him to the back hatch, not wanting to let any more cold in than necessary. An unusual group crawled from the hatch. First came David Miller, who had insisted he come due to his expertise as a guard and the presence of his son on the rover team. After him, Sinclair, who was the camp expert on the rovers (and personally attached to both Monty and Raven, but that went unspoken). Dr. Jackson popped up next, to Bellamy’s surprise. It made sense, since Abby was also chancellor she was more useful at camp. He was still surprised at Jackson’s pale face popping up, out of the hatch and straight to Raven. Finally, Kane pulled himself up into the main area. He surveyed the area, studying the young people around him. Bellamy had warned them that they had stripped of their clothes, but it evidently had not dawned on him that they were stripped down to their underwear. He pulled off his own jacket and offered it to Bellamy before anyone could say anything. Bellamy would have refused but he was so cold and the jacket was still warm from Kane, so he took it. 

“We’ve got clothes for all of you,” Kane placed a hand on his shoulder. “David… Sargent Miller helped me find stuff that would fit you”

“Thank you” was all Bellamy could manage. There was someone there to take care of him now. He did not have to worry about his team or himself with Kane looking out for them. Sometimes, he wondered who looked out for Kane. He must struggle at times too. 

Sinclair pulled Kane aside, pulling Bellamy out of his musings. David Miller called him over, passing him clothes with a curt nod. Bellamy dressed, neatly folding Kane’s jacket with a mental note to return it with a thank you. Kane was going around, checking on each person. He spent some time chatting with Octavia in a soft voice and absentmindedly patted Jasper on the back. He gave Miller a brief hug and spent most of his time with Raven also talking with Jackson. Monty and Sinclair had ducked out of the drop ship to work on the rover. From Raven, Kane looped back around to Bellamy.

“Thank you for the jacket, sir,” he said, offering the jacket back to Kane. He took it. “What’s the plan?”

“Once Sinclair and Monty come back, we’ll head back to Arkadia.” Kane smiled warmly, setting a hand on Bellamy’s shoulder. “You made a good choice and you kept your people safe. I could ask for nothing more”

Knowing he made Kane proud warmed Bellamy up from the inside out. “I just did what I thought you would do”

Kane gave him a look that he could not quite decipher, then turned away to speak to Jasper. Bellamy was not sure whether or not he’d said the right thing, but he’d said it so it was out there. There was no indication of how Kane had taken the response other than the look. He put the thought aside for a bit. Bellamy joined Miller, his father, and Octavia off in the corner.

“Kane looked proud of you,” Sargent Miller commented. 

“So that's what that look was,” Bellamy said. “I wasn’t sure”

Sargent Miller chuckled. “Looked like fatherly pride”

His eyes shot to his son, who completely ignored the comment.

“Are you ready for the council meeting when you get back?” Miller quipped. Bellamy groaned. He dreaded the mandatory debriefing that followed every mission. Usually they were short and sweet, but this one would be a headache and a half. 

“I’m sure the council is going to be thrilled,” Octavia said teasingly. “Better you than me”

Everyone else seemed to agree with Octavia. It was the only thing Bellamy disliked about running the team and he made that very public knowledge.

Monty’s head popped up from the hatch. “Rover’s running, we’re good to go”

Bellamy stayed back with Kane, waiting for the others to file out. 

“Sir, we should discuss what we’re going to say at the council meeting. If they need to blame someone, I’m willing to take it”

Kane clapped him on the back. “Bellamy, I’ll take care of it”

Kane stayed true to his word. They rode together in the rover back to Arkadia. Every time Bellamy tried to bring up the subject, Kane would send a sly smile his way and cut him off. At the meeting itself, Kane told it how it happened in the way only he could manage. If Bellamy had not been on the mission itself, he probably would have been convinced that the team in the rover had been in the right to leave, but had not anticipated the acceleration in the oncoming storm. He realized why Kane had been such a good and well-respected member of the council on the Ark. He had the council eating out of the palm of his hand.

After the council meeting, Bellamy made his rounds. Monty was fine. So was Miller. Jasper was not fine, by any means, but he was physically healthy and containing his chaos to his room for the time being, so Bellamy filed it under okay. Raven had Jackson and Abby fusing over her in medical, which meant she was warming up substantially but going insane from all the attention. Octavia was nowhere to be found.

After quite a bit of hunting, some great detective work, and asking everyone her saw, he found her and Lincoln outside the stables, chatting in Trig.

“You just got stuck in the snow and the first thing you do when you get back is to go back out into it?” Bellamy quipped. Their heads shot up in his direction.

“I’m fine, Bell,” Octavia looked annoyed that he was there. Lincoln looked amused. “You can go now”

“Maybe you aren’t the reason I’m here, O. Maybe I’m here to check on Lincoln,” Bellamy retorted. “Speaking of which, I’m here to thank you. For warning us about the storm. For insisting we bring the blankets. For advising us when we were in the rover. For saving our butts out there”

Lincoln nodded. 

“I’m heading back inside, see you later?” Octavia nodded in response. 

That night, laying in his bed, Bellamy ran over the events of the day in his head. In the end, everything had worked out fine. As long as he had his team with him, he thought, everything would turn out fine.


	4. Modern AU: David Miller’s House

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This was inspired by another fic that I read. David Miller is, in my opinion, the only consistently good person and parent in The 100. So, he becomes a dad figure to the other kids.
> 
> Warning: mentions of abuse, parental death, divorce

David Miller’s house was one of the biggest in the town of Arkadia. The Millers had initially planned to have lots of kids and fill their house, but that plan had been abandoned when Mrs. Miller had gotten sick. Nathan was barely a year old at the time, and was a handful already. Mrs. Miller’s passing left her husband David with a rambunctious one year old boy and a big, empty house. 

As Nate grew up, he would sometimes bring friends from school or boyfriends over to visit. Never enough friends to fill the house, but just enough to add some noise. David enjoyed the noise of others being around the house. It reminded him of what he and his wife had wanted.

It was not until high school that David Miller’s dream of a full house of kids came true. It began with Nate bringing home some of his highschool friends, Monty, Harper, and Jasper. They came over nearly every night. Though there were only four of them, they went through an outrageous amount of food and made a lot of noise. By the end of the year, the group had grown to add Clarke, Finn, Raven, Octavia and Murphy. Murphy was definitely the outsider of the group, but he still hung around nearly daily. David did not mind. In fact, he enjoyed the constant company. At the end of the night, they all cleaned up, said thank you, and headed home. 

Summer is when the house started to fill up permanently. After a quiet day in the house, one where the kids had decided to go to the movies, Nate returned home with company. Jasper Jordan stood in the doorway, dark bruises littering visible skin and blood seeping from his nose and lip.

“Dad,” Nate said quietly. “Is it okay if Jasper spends the night?”

With a glance back to Jasper, who stood stiffly in the doorway, Nate revised his statement. “Or maybe a few nights”

“Of course,” David said with a smile. “Nate, show Jasper the shower and give him some of your clothes to borrow. Jasper, you are welcome to stay as long as you want. We have plenty of spare rooms. I’ll have dinner ready in a bit”

When Jasper and Nate came back downstairs, bowls of pasta were set out for them. Nate chatted away while they ate. Jasper ate like someone was about to take his food away at any time. Once they had all finished Nate volunteered to take the plates, giving his dad a pointed look. 

Once Nate was out of earshot, David turned to Jasper. “Jasper, do you want to talk about what happened?”

“I came home late and my mom got angry. She started yelling and throwing things. I tried to calm her down, but she would not listen.” Jasper pulled in a shaky breath. “Then, when I tried to leave, she hit me. Every time I tried to get away she would hit me again. She just wouldn’t stop after a while, so I waited for her to stop, then called Nate. Monty and Harper both got new phone number, so his was the only number that I knew”

“Well, Jasper, you are free to spend as much time here as you would like,” David said. “We have plenty of spare beds and rooms”

Jasper smiled. “I think I’ll stay for a while”

“As long as you need.” David switched to a more serious topic. “Would you like to talk to anybody about what happened? I can call the police or a doctor or a social worker”

“Can we call Sheriff Kane tomorrow morning? I don’t feel up to it tonight,” Jasper said.

And they did. The next morning they called Sheriff Marcus Kane, an old friend of David’s, together, which led to the opening of an investigation. The investigation led to charges and, before anyone knew it, Jasper was a permanent member of the Miller household. David laid the same ground rules for Jasper as for his son and Jasper adapted quickly to their routine. 

Jasper moving in with the Millers changed something in Nate’s friend group as well. Along with adding Bryan, Nate’s new boyfriend, they started sleeping over at the MIller’s house. The sleepovers kept the house fuller for longer. David had some rules about sleepovers, but they were not outrageous demands by any means and the kids had all promised to follow them. Nate and Bryan sharing a bed peeved David a little, but as long as everything that happened was safe and consensual he did not pay it too much attention. 

The end of summer and the beginning of tenth grade brought change. Sleepovers became a weekend thing and the house changed from a hangout to a study space. They were all still welcome at any time and the password for the WiFi was always on display, but the general nature of schoolwork plus a few of them getting part-time jobs meant there was less time to hang. The first big change came a month into the year.

One Saturday, Nate’s friends came over earlier than usual. David offered them all breakfast which they all refused. That was the first warning sign. The second came when Harper asked if Octavia could use his shower. He did not ask any questions, offering her some toiletries and showing her to the clean towels. The final warning sign came pulling up into his driveway in the form of an unfamiliar SUV. A man a few years older than the teenagers hopped out and came to the door. 

David opened it with caution. “Can I help you?”

“Is Octavia in there?” The man asked.

“Can I ask who you are?” David said, blocking the door. “You have to understand, I promised these kids a safe place and I can’t just let anyone in”

The man softened. “I’m Bellamy Blake. I’m Octavia’s brother. She’s had a rough week and I need to know if she’s okay”

Upon further inspection, Bellamy looked worn down. His eyes were rimmed with red and his shoulders sagged. David let him in. Bellamy barely moved past the doorway.

“Care to tell me what happened?” David asked.

“Our mother died in a car crash on Wednesday. The next day, I lost my job. Then last night, our landlord informed us that we had to leave,” Bellamy sighed, rubbing his face. 

“Bell?” Octavia stood, freshly showered, halfway down the stairs. She rushed to her brother, wrapping him in a hug. “Why are you here?”

“Your note said where you would be and nothing else. I got really worried about you, O” Bellamy said. “I talked to Shumway this morning”

“And?” Octavia said nervously.

“We have to be out by Tuesday.” Octavia deflated at the statement. “Look, O, I’ll find us a place as soon as I can. And we still have the car. That works for now”

Octavia nodded sadly. David felt his mind whirling. He had room in his big house and would not mind the extra company.

“Octavia, how about you hang out with the others while I make your brother some breakfast? He looks like he could use some food,” David led Bellamy to the kitchen. He got to work cooking up some eggs and bacon and turned the coffee machine on. Once the food was cooked, he placed a full plate in front of Bellamy.

“Sir, you didn’t need to,” Bellamy said. 

“Eat. We need to talk,” David said, pulling out a chair for himself. Bellamy tucked into the food in front of him “I have plenty of spare room in this house and I wouldn’t mind having a few more people around. You can stay here for the time being. Or for however long you two need to get back on your feet”

Bellamy’s head shot up. “We would never want to intrude on you like that, And we can't afford rent right now, so we couldn’t pay you. The car works fine”

“Listen, Bellamy. You and your sister are more than welcome to stay here without rent. If you really want to pay rent, I can find some things for you to do around the house instead. It's an old house.” Bellamy looked relieved. David moved on to the other pressing issue. “As for your job, I have a few connections in town that I could hook you up with. I have a friend in the auto shop who’s always looking for a pair of hands to help. Or I could talk to Sheriff Kane, see if he’s taking new recruits”

“That would be amazing, sir,” Bellamy said.

David smiled, “Call me David”.

And so Bellamy and Octavia came to stay at David Miller’s house. Octavia seemed to enjoy always having others around. She certainly had not recovered from the death of her mother, but having others around her seemed to help. Bellamy secured a job as a sheriff’s deputy in training, which meant he was home at odd hours. He still cooked and went grocery shopping when he could. The moment he was able to pay rent, he sat David down and insisted on paying some sort of rent for the two rooms that he and Octavia were taking up in his house. After plenty of debating, they settled on a low but fair price for the two rooms. David stashed the money away, saving it for when either of them needed something.

As the school year continued, the house became livelier and livelier. Sleepovers returned to the weekdays, along with the weekends. There were periods of time where a member of the little group would stay for a while. David was always there to talk if someone needed it. He was almost pleased to see Bryan and Nate break up at the end of tenth grade. They had been good for each other, but they had both known that it would never quite work out. During finals week, the house became a designated study space. David helped where he could, but was lost most of the time. All the kids passed their classes with flying colors and he insisted on hosting an ice cream party in celebration. 

The next person to join the house came a week after finals week. David answered the door in the middle of the night to find Marcus Kane standing with a very angry Murphy. David led Murphy to a bedroom and got him situated, then returned to the kitchen to chad with Marcus.

“What happened?”

“His dad was arrested robbing a pharmacy. He’s got no relatives in town. He asked to be brought here,” Kane said. “David, I can find him a permanent place to live. I just need some time”

“He’s fine here, Marcus,” David said. “I don’t mind”

So Murphy came to live with them in the middle of the night. Paperwork was filled out and Murphy became a permanent resident of the household. He was more challenging than the others. He seemed angry all the time. It took all summer to eventually get him back to where he was before his father had been arrested. 

The end of summer marked one year of people coming to join the Miller household. Bellamy had started on the little projects around the house that David had never gotten to, recruiting the others to help him. Bellamy, Nate, Jasper, and Finn coerced Murphy into helping them fix the fence around the house. Monty and Harper planned out the landscaping, designing a little garden for the backyard. Raven managed to fix the pesky light switch that had been bothering David since the house had become his. Even Clarke and Octavia pitched into the home improvement, modifying the interior design of the house to make it homier. It took plenty of trips to the home improvement store, but the end result was more than worth it in David’s mind.

Eleventh grade got off to a great start. There was not as much of a drop off in activity as the year before. It seemed like the more people that came to his house, the more time everyone else spent at the house. He enjoyed it anyhow. He attended back to school events for all of them and was always there if they needed a place to crash or some free advice.

The next person to joining the house, albeit temporary, was Clarke. A few weeks before Christmas she called Octavia out of the blue, crying to be picked up from her house. Octavia had gone straight to Bellamy, who had then gone to David. He took Octavia to the Griffins’ house, where Abby Griffin was waiting for them. He sent Octavia upstairs to help Clarke pack while Abby explained that she and her husband, Jake, were going through a messy divorce. She thought it best that Clarke stay at the Millers’ for a few weeks and David agreed. He and Octavia loaded Clarke’s bags into the car and watched a tearful goodbye between mother and daughter. 

Clarke stayed with them almost until Valentine's day. She shared a room with Octavia, not wanting to take up the one spare room in the house in case another person might need it. She celebrated Christmas at the Millers’ house with the rest of the teenagers and residents of the house. David let her invite one or both of her parents if she wanted, and she invited her mother. It was nice to be together as a big group and Nate had stood up during dinner and declared the gathering to be a tradition worth continuing. Nobody objected.

Two weeks before Clarke returned home, Finn came to stay for a weekend. He showed up on a Friday, after missing school, with all of his stuff packed into bags and offered no explanation. Finn brought his car with him and insisted on sleeping on the couch in the living room. He stayed Saturday and Sunday, but left sometime in the night. All he left was a note. David had called Sheriff Kane, who launched an investigation. All they were able to determine was that Finn had left after a particularly aggressive argument between him and his parents. They never saw him again.

The end of Nate’s eleventh grade year was when David realized that Raven was actually a year older than her friends. She graduated from high school that year, top of her class, and got accepted to MIT. She asked to have her graduation party at the Millers’ house and David eagerly accepted. At the party he met Raven’s boss, Sinclair, who was a MIT graduate himself and had written the recommendation letter that Raven credited with getting her into the school. The party had been a blast, and David then realized that in a year it would be his kids he was saying goodbye to. 

By the second month of school, everyone except for Octavia and Nate had turned eighteen. There were obligatory eighteenth birthday celebrations. David did what he could to get them all gifts that meant something. He knew they would soon all be going off to college, so he savored every moment he could get with them. He was not prepared for what was about to happen.

The day after Halloween, Monty and Harper showed up after school with bags. He let them in like normal and said nothing about the bags. Unless David felt it was urgent, he would not push. Monty and Harper pulled him aside later in the afternoon. 

“We have something very exciting to tell you,” Harper started. She and Monty were practically bursting with excitement. “We’re pregnant and we’re going to get married”

David’s mouth fell open. “Wow”

“We were hoping to maybe have the wedding here. Just us and a few other close friends in the backyard,” Monty said.

“Of course,” David shook off his shock. “May I ask what the bags are for?”

Both of their faces fell. Monty wrapped an arm around Harper. 

“Our parents didn’t take the news so well. Both sets of parents told us they wanted nothing to do with us and that they wanted us out of the house. We didn’t know where to go” Monty said.

And so, the final empty bedroom became the property of Monty and Harper. They got married in January, Harper’s baby bump barely starting to show. David watched as college acceptances poured in. Nate had decided he would be attending community college until he could figure out what he wanted to do. Jasper had been accepted to an out of state private school, which had provided him with a very generous scholarship to study biology. Clarke had opened her acceptance letter to a prestigious pre-med program in his house, surrounded by her friends, her mother, and her soon to be step-father, Kane, by her side. Octavia was accepted at the big state school to study classic literature. Murphy had decided to work before going to college. Monty decided to take a gap year and be there for his wife and son, who was still on the way. Harper was still not sure what her plan for the future was, with her baby due in May, but she knew it involved Monty. Whatever they planned, David supported them.

Graduation is what really stung for David Miller. He attended and cheered at the top of his lungs along with Bellamy, Raven, Sinclair, Abby, and Kane, but deep down he felt the kick at his gut that graduation meant his kids were moving on. Most of his kids would not be leaving the house, but it still hurt to see them walk across the stage. He took as many pictures as he could and posted them around the house. 

The end of senior year also brought Jackson into their lives. Nate had brought Jackson home one night to join in on game night. He fit right into the group. David had been given no prior warning that Nate had a new boyfriend or that the new boyfriend would be joining them for dinner. He scrambled to set another place and keep his head on straight whenever he was around Jackson. When the others had gone out to the yard to play soccer, Jackson had hung back under the pretense of a long day at work. This had given him and David time to talk and get to know each other. Even though Jackson was a few years older than Nate, he seemed like a good fit. David had made it clear that he was hesitant, but for now Jackson had his blessing. 

Time passed from there. Harper had her baby days after graduating. They named him Jordan, which Jasper teased them relentlessly about. The boy was healthy and adored attention, which he got plenty of living in a crowded house. The summer came and went faster than anyone could keep track of. They had filled every moment of it with as much as they could. 

The house got emptier come August. Octavia and Jasper were gone to college. Murphy found a good job and a sweet girlfriend named Emori. He spent most nights at her place. Harper and Monty began looking for their own place to live, along with securing full-time jobs for themselves. They wanted to have a home to raise their son in, which David understood and supported wholeheartedly. Monty was taking classes part time to get what he could out of the way. There was barely a time where it was more than just David, Nate, Jackson, and Bellamy. The Griffin-Kane family would occasionally join them for dinner, but it was not the same.

School breaks were a relief to the quiet, but he savored them knowing they were not permanent. Sometimes, someone would stay at school or go on a trip during break and it almost made things worse. It left things off in the social dynamic, like an empty chair at the dinner table or an unused piece in the board game.

He found himself alone in the living room with Bellamy one night. They were chatting about life and the world and how everything had changed. Bellamy assured him that he was not the only one who missed the noise and chaos of other people running around the house. But moving on was natural and inevitable.

So David Miller moved on. He opened his house to anyone of any age or status who needed a place to hang out or some advice. He let it be known that there was always room for someone who needed a place to sleep for however long. He somehow eventually ended up with a dog named Picasso, whose owner had not been able to keep due to apartment rules and guardian to a young girl named Madi, who immediately attached herself to the dog. Madi brought her friends around and the cycle began anew.

David Miller’s house was one of the biggest in the town of Arkadia and he would not let it be quiet for as long as he lived.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't spell Wednesday


	5. Mackson: Alone Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Post-Praimfaya canon compliant moment between Miller and Jackson. A sadder fic, involving the death of Miller’s dad, Abby not wanting to survive, and the ones who went up to the Ring.

Miller was not claustrophobic. So then why were the walls of his room closing in around him? Why was his chest filling with panic? Why was breathing so hard?

Jackson was there, next to him. Through the numbness, Miller could feel Jackson’s hands on his body. One was on his back, rubbing soothing circles. The other was running back and forth across his chest, coaxing him to breathe. The hands kept him grounded in the bunker as much as they could. 

“Hey,” Jackson pressed a gentle kiss to his shoulder. “Let's go for a walk. Get some fresh air”

“Fresh air” was relative. Miller knew it meant to get out of the room, but he could not stop his mind from drifting up to the planet’s burnt surface, littered with corpses. His dad was among them. He had most likely spent his last moments trying to comfort others and finding happiness that his son had made the bunker. 

“Nate?” Jackson’s voice was soft. “Are you up to walking around?”

Miller stood from the bed. Jackson’s hand was on his back, guiding him forward. Jackson led him through the halls of the bunker. He evidently had an idea of where he wanted to go. Miller just followed along. At last, they reached a store room, empty of supplies but a private space for them. 

“Want to talk?” Jackson asked, locking the door. Miller sank down to the floor. Jackson took that as an answer in itself and sank to the floor next to Miller. They sat in silence for a minute, just taking in each other’s company.

“You know, Abby told me she wanted to give up her spot to let someone else live. She wanted to die for what she did at Becca’s lab. I…” Jackson’s voice puttered out for a second, before returning. “When we woke up, my first thought was Abby. Whether or not she had lived. I was so scared that when I saw her again I cried. I could only imagine…”

They left the last part unspoken. Miller just nodded his head stoically. He pressed against Jackson, letting a few tears slip out. 

“I’m glad Abby made it” was all he could manage before he broke. “I miss him. I miss my dad. I just got close to him”

Jackson wrapped his arms tightly around his boyfriend, pressing a gentle kiss to the side of his head. “If you want to talk about it, I’m here”

“I wish…” Miller said, stewing over his words. “I wish we’d had the sense to go with the others to Becca’s lab. To go up to the ring. Then, maybe, he’d still be alive”

“Nate, we couldn’t have known. Nobody knew. The plan was for them to come back. They didn’t realize they were going up to the ring before the death wave hit here,” Jackson tried to keep his voice level. He had gone through the same thing with himself, only he hadn’t lost his father.

“You wish it too, don’t you. ‘At least the Ark had windows’. That's what you said to me earlier,” Miller sounded angry. “And Raven needed a doctor and you were the only one available. You should have gone with them”

“No, Nate..” Jackson pleaded. 

“I held you back. I’m the reason you’re here instead of up there. It’s my fault”

Nathan Miller was spiraling and there was only one thing Eric Jackson could think to do.

He kissed him.

Jackson kissed his boyfriend long and hard, deepening the kiss as he went. He pulled away for air when his lungs began to protest, studying his boyfriend. Nate looked unfocused, but for all the right reasons. Jackson kisses him again, starting at his lips and kissing down his neck to his collarbone. Jackson pulled Miller’s shirt aside, nuzzling into his collarbone. Miller hummed softly.

Jackson pulled back. “You’ll never hold hold me back”

“Jacks…” Nate stopped as Jackson nuzzled back into his collarbone. He moved back up Nate’s neck to his mouth. He found Nate’s mouth and stopped.

“I want to be with you, Nate. It’s not your fault that I’m here and not on the ring. That was my choice and I own it,” Jackson gave a quick kiss to his impatient boyfriend. “I’m a grown man and I can make my own choices”

Nate pecked at his lips in response. “I bet you miss the windows anyways”

“Yeah, you got me there,” Jackson chuckled. He pressed his lips to Nate’s cheek, just missing his lips. “The door is locked. This room is ours. Do you want to take this further?”

Nate moved to a better position. “Yes please”


	6. Canon Divergent Ending: The Murphy Problem

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Raven convinces the being to stop the test and Octavia stops the last war, but that brings up a few new problems for the gang. How to save Murphy, and hopefully Emori, becomes a problem with an urgent need for a solution.
> 
> Hardcore spoilers for the last two episodes of season seven. Warnings for suicidal desires, death of a loved one, the whole deal from the last few episodes of the 100.

They had lost so many friends that walking into the lab to find Murphy and Emori on the brink of death was almost too much. The wounded from the last war came flooding in behind them and suddenly Jackson had his hands full. Levitt and Echo were both hurt pretty badly and Jackson was struggling to keep up with the overwhelming influx of injuries. Those who knew how took over the minor injuries, lightening some of the load from Jackson. Clarke and Niylah, along with some healers from Sanctum, took over the people whose injuries were bad, but not life threatening. Jackson focused his efforts on the critical patients, 7 people including Emori, Murphy, Echo, and Levitt, whose conditions could result in death. Once he had everyone stabilized to the point where he was no longer greatly concerned, he turned his attention to Madi.

There wasn’t much he could do for Madi. Time would heal her, or not, but Jackson could do nothing as of the present. He stayed with Madi, checking her vitals and doing what he could to keep her stable. Clarke joined him as soon as she could. 

“Hey, how is she?” Clarke asked softly, taking Madi’s hand.

“Stable,” Jackson said. “There’s nothing else I can do for her now”

Clarke nodded, on the verge of tears. “It’s not fair. She’s been through so much already and now…”

A few of Madi’s friends rushed into the lab asking for her and Jackson took that as his cue to leave. He returned to Raven, at Murphy’s side. Raven had her thinking face on, intensely concentrated on Murphy in front of her. 

“What if I can find a way to save both of their consciousnesses to the same mind drive?” Raven blurted. She moved to the computer, typing away. “That way they both survive until we have a better solution” 

Jackson stuttered. “That could kill them!”

“Or, it could save both of them,” Raven countered.

Jackson moved to stop her. “Raven, he wants this”

“What if there's a way to bring Emori back? Don’t we owe it to them to try” 

Jackson sighed, defeated. “Okay. We take Emori’s mind drive out. Then what?”

“We find a solution,” she said.

“And when Murphy wakes up and realizes that we took Emori out of his head, then what?”

“Do you want to save our friends?”

“Of course I…” Jackson drifted off. He laid a hand on Raven’s shoulder. “Look, I want both of them to live. But John wanted this. He wants to stay with her”

“Imagine if Miller died. If you had the chance to spend a little more time with him or a vague chance to spend the rest of your life with him, what would you choose?” Raven knew what she was doing, using Miller.

Jackson went silent. “Fine”

“So, how do we go about removing the mind drive?” Raven asked.

“From what Gabriel left in his notes, we have to wait until Murphy’s heart stops. Both his and Emori’s minds will back up to their mind drives. Then we can take Emori’s out,” Jackson said hesitantly. “Murphy is going to be mad when you take it out”

Raven smiled. “Don’t worry Jackson, I’ll make sure he knows it was my idea. I’m not losing another friend”

At that moment, Murphy’s heart stopped. The monitors he was hooked up to went wild, beeping for attention. Jackson rushed for a scalpel. 

“Tilt him forward! I need to get to his neck!” Raven pulled Murphy towards her, letting him rest against her chest. She gently stroked his hair, knowing it would do nothing. Jackson emerged seconds later with a scalpel, forceps, the defibrillator, and an adrenaline shot. He held eye contact with Raven. “Hold him steady”

Raven did just that, holding Murphy firmly. Jackson sliced right below Murphy’s hairline and pulled out a bloody, black mind drive. He set it down on a nearby tray. Raven pushed Murphy back and gently lowered him to the back of the chair. Wordlessly, Jackson placed the defibrillator.

“Clear”

The shock rippled through Murphy’s body. It was enough to knock his heart back into rhythm and he let out a soft breath. Opening his eyes, he tried to reorient himself. 

“Hey,” Raven said, looming over him. “Welcome back, cockroach”

“Emori?” Murphy asked softly. He was vaguely aware of a pair of hands on his neck, covering it with gauze. Thoughts came rushing through his head and he sat up, awake. “You took it out?”

He saw a guilty look pass between Raven and the person standing behind him, who he assumed was Jackson. He scrambled to his feet, struggling to stand, and snatched the bloody scalpel from the tray beside him. Pointing the scalpel at Jackson, he found his voice.

“Put it back in!” he screamed. He could feel Raven reach for him and he swatted her hand away. “You promised me you wouldn’t take it out! You promised!”

“I made him do it,” Raven reached Murphy’s shoulder. He seemed to shrink curling into himself as the words sunk in. “I couldn’t lose another friend. Not after everything that's happened”

Murphy shook her off. He stared at her coldly and shook his head. Murphy made his way to Emori, dead of the nearby table. He pressed his lips into her hair. “I love you”

Tears were streaming down his face. Jackson looked pale, and when Raven turned to say something to him he bolted from the room. Raven stood alone with Murphy.

“I couldn’t just let you die without trying to bring her back,” Raven’s voice cracked. “Murphy, I…”

“I love her,” he said, voice seething with anger. He softened with a glance to Raven, who looked guilty and worn down from the past few days. “I wanted to die with her. Because without her, I’m not living. I’m just...alive”

“We’ll find a way,” Raven said, attempting to convince Murphy and, on some levels, herself. “We’ll bring her back”

“What? Become body snatchers like the primes before us. No one will agree to that, Raven,” Murphy said. “I killed Abby that way. I can’t live with killing someone else”

Abby was a sore spot, still. At the mention of her name, they both broke. Raven let out a long repressed sob and Murphy wrapped her in a hug, desperate for human connection. Raven’s legs gave out and Murphy lowered them to the floor.

“Listen to me. Let's make a deal. I give you and Jackson one year to find a way to bring Emori back that doesn’t involve murdering someone. If that doesn’t happen, you put the mind drive back in my head and let me die with her,” Murphy proposed.

“No. I’m not doing that,” Raven’s voice was broken. “I’m not losing another friend”

“Raven, I can’t live the rest of my life without her,” Murphy replied. “Besides, who else can I trust to find a solution to an impossible problem?”

Raven chuckled. “I don’t want you to die”

“I don’t want to die either,” Murphy said. “So get to work”

\-----------------------------------

The first month without Emori was hard. Murphy had tried to revert back to drinking, but he was immediately stopped by all of his surviving friends. They needed workers to rebuild and Murphy needed to make himself useful in the reconstruction. Drinking would prevent that from happening, so Murphy needed to stay sober.

He was assigned to a work detail with Miller, building a new life back on Earth for the people who would soon return there. Murphy spent his days sorting through old stuff in the bunker to determine what was and was not useful. He was always given more work than he could reasonably achieve in his shifts, something he imagined was designed to keep his mind off of his other problem.

When he wasn’t working, people would find a reason to keep him company. There was always something. Jeremiah, the Sanctumite whose son he had saved, insisted on teaching him new recipes. Raven would teach him simple engineering concepts in their shared spare time. Echo or Niylah would pull him aside and ask questions about Sanctum that he was not qualified to answer. Blythe Anne was constantly seeking him out to taste test her newest creation. He even found himself roped into games of soccer with the kids of Sanctum every so often. He enjoyed the soccer distraction the most of all of them, since the people he played soccer with weren’t actually trying to distract him from Emori’s predicament. They would just need an extra man for a team and he was always up for a game.

All the action made Murphy tired. Later on in the day, he would instinctually find himself turning to Emori to suggest they head to bed or get some food, only to find her not there. Those days would leave a stab of pain radiating throughout his chest and an inescapable panic that something might happen and he would never see her again.

\-----------------------------------

Raven wore Emori’s mind drive around her neck. It was for logic purposes. She would lock herself in the lab with a computer and the mind drive and search for solutions to their ever growing problem. Jackson was the only person she allowed to have consistent access to it, since he too was searching for answers.

Murphy had begged for the mind drive to be put back in his head a few times in the first few weeks. His pleas were immediately met with negative answers from everyone around and he would be purposefully distracted by another task.

After three months away from Emori, Murphy approached Raven and Jackson with a strange, but reasonable, proposition. He would be allowed some time every day to go through the memory files on Emori’s mind drive. It was his compromise between having her in his head and the torture of not being able to see her. Jackson initially protested, but changed his mind when Murphy proposed his alternative plan of allowing Emori’s mind drive to be put inside of his head for a stretch of time every month. 

So, starting the next day, Murphy was allowed an hour a day with the mind drive. He was under strict instructions not to try anything and, for once, had no intention to do so. Instead, he went through all of their memories together, noting what Emori liked and didn’t like. He left the memories he wasn’t involved in untouched. Even though Emori had told him about much of her childhood, Murphy felt it an invasion of privacy to look through her memories. At the end of his designated hour, he unplugged the mind drive, gave it a gentle kiss, and returned it to Raven. 

\-----------------------------------

In a cruel twist of fate, or so Murphy perceived it, Madi got better. The constant care from Jackson and Levitt, along with her fighting spirit and Clarke’s overbearing motherliness, aided her progression. She wasn’t back to old Madi yet, but she was no longer locked in. She could form phrases and basic sentences. She started physical therapy with Jackon to improve her range of movement. She was never alone for long, with constant visitors and Clarke sleeping by her daughter’s side. Murphy envied that.

He wished it was that easy with Emori. He wished that she would just slowly get better and that he could sit with her and nurse her back to health. He could almost hear her in his head, pestering him about being too involved in taking care of her and reminding him to take time to think about himself. But that wouldn’t happen. Emori wasn’t like Madi, she didn’t have that luck.

Emori’s body was stored in a cryopod, up on the Eligius mothership. They had decided on that after not knowing what to do. It was still entirely possible that the solution to their problem would require Emori’s original body. Murphy considered joining her, waiting out the twelve months in a cryopod to feel like no time had passed. Something deep down inside of him had convinced him that he was needed in Sanctum and that he couldn’t abandon his friends just yet. 

So Murphy stayed in Sanctum. He spent all of his free time with Madi. She seemed to enjoy his company the most. She hadn’t been given the memo to distract him from Emori’s death, so her distractions proved to be genuine and kind hearted. Murphy hated himself for hating her luck and shared that with Madi. She seemed to understand and agree with his anger. She didn’t let that change how she interacted with him and he appreciated her all the more for it.

\-----------------------------------

Month nine brought relief. Jackson had pulled Murphy aside and given him the news that there was a possible way to save Emori. 

Going through some of Gabriel’s old files, he ran into a tree sap that had curative properties. He brought it up in conversation and Octavia confirmed its existence. She also happened to know exactly where to find some and would be taking a team out the following morning to collect some.

Jackson did warn Murphy that Emori wasn’t in the clear yet. Even with the sap, she would most likely need a new liver. The rebar had completely torn through hers, destroying it beyond repair. The donor didn’t need to be a nightblood, which widened their options, but the process would require a full liver, which was not a survivable procedure. Murphy tried to volunteer but Jackson shot him down, insisting that saving Emori would be pointless if he didn’t survive.

That conversation was the first time that Murphy had the chance to truly look at Jackson. He looked exhausted. Miller had alluded to how much finding a solution to Emori’s condition had drained him, but realizing it was a different ballpark. From the looks of him, Jackson hadn’t slept in a few days. He had lost weight, most likely due to skipping meals, and he looked stressed to the point of collapse. At the end of his speech, Murphy confronted him.

“We’ll do the sap transfusion the moment the team gets back,” Jackson said.

“While that’s good to hear, but I don’t think you need to rush that,” Murphy turned on his kind voice. “Look, man, I appreciate what you’ve done for me, but you need to rest. Miller is worried sick about you and I need you working at your best. So, unless you have a liver lined up and ready for Emori right now, you need to eat something and then get some sleep”

Jackson nodded hesitantly. He glanced one more time at the computer, then moved to exit the room. Murphy stopped him.

“I know I haven't said this enough before, but thank you”

\-----------------------------------

There were only two weeks left in Murphy’s promised year when the liver showed up.

A member of Wonkru came in, carried by a few others who Murphy had seen around before. The woman, who was promptly plopped unceremoniously on the table, had seemingly suffered from some sort of sudden heart failure. A few of her friends had found her and had rushed her to medical. Jackson did what he could to save her, but it seemed that her heart had collapsed. 

Murphy and Jackson shared a look before Jackson brought up Emori’s situation to the friends of the deceased woman. They all quickly agreed, citing that Zellia, the woman who had just died, would want her organs to be used to save other lives if they could. The liver came back a positive match and the process began.

They had drilled it a few times before. Time was quickly becoming a critical factor. As Zellia’s body was being rushed to the transport ship, Raven lowered the shield. The rest of Jackson’s team met them at the ship and they were off. Murphy wouldn’t be present for the surgery, since he had no prior knowledge and there were others who did. It didn’t stop him from worrying every moment of the surgery.

It ended up being an 8 hour surgery. Jackson and the others emerged exhausted and covered in black blood, but optimistic. Emori had responded better than they had hoped and now they were just waiting for her to wake up. Jackson let Murphy in to sit with her, knowing he would want to be there when she woke up.

\-----------------------------------

Emori woke in a panic, flailing and reaching for something that wasn't there. She gasped for air, looking around. Murphy was there, right next to her, reassuring her that everything was okay and holding her mutated hand. She scanned her surroundings

“John?”

“Hey, hey, hey. It's okay,” He smiled at her. 

“What happened? Are we still…” Emori’s voice faded out when she realized. “We’re not in the mind space”

“No,” Murphy choked out with a smile, “you’re alive”

“What?”

“It took him eleven and a half months, but Jackson found a way to save your body. Don’t ask, he tried to explain it and my brain nearly melted. But you’re alive,” Murphy squeezed her hand. “God, I forgot how beautiful you are”

“Jackson!” Emori tried to sit up, but Murphy stopped her. “He…”

“Woah, woah, woah, I’ll go get him for you. You just stay still and let yourself heal. I’m not losing you again,” Murphy exited the room and came back moments later. “I’ll give you some space”

Jackson fluttered around Emori wordlessly. She kept trying to find the right thing to say to him. He evidently blamed himself for her death, though he tried to conceal it. 

“Jackson, you know I don’t blame you,” she said quietly.

He glanced down at her briefly. “Doesn’t mean it wasn’t my fault”

“You did what you could, Jackson,” Emori said, adjusting her position and getting a better look at him. He looked exhausted and drained. She grabbed his hand as he passed. “It wasn’t your fault, Jackson. What matters is you tried to save me”

Jackson opened his mouth to say something, but stopped himself. At that moment, Clarke and Niylah barged in excitedly. One last look passed between Emori and Jackson as Clarke and Niylah took over the conversation. 

It took time, but Emori returned to her old self. Once Jackson cleared her medically, they returned to Sanctum. Murphy was glued to her side, never letting her out of his sight. She enjoyed the constant company of friends, eating meals with her, drinking with her, even just having a genuine conversation with her. She readjusted to life in Sanctum remarkably well considering she had just missed almost a full year of them being there.

Emori did make herself useful. She took up a job as a teacher on Earth. Passage between Sanctum and Earth was free and unrestricted, but she stayed on Earth once she got there. She only went back to Sanctum briefly in the following weeks to help plan a Unity Day celebration. It was nice to feel needed, to feel wanted. There was always someone asking for her or something she needed to do. 

She found herself in Murphy’s arms on a late morning, one where neither of them had something they had to do. He was spooned behind her, nuzzling his nose into the back of her neck, arm wrapped around her protectively, still asleep. She shifted to face him, unable to fall back asleep. This seemed to wake Murphy a little, who tried to pull her in closer. She giggled softly. The sound pulled him out of his sleep fogged state.

“Good morning,” she said with a soft smile.

He seemed to study her face, taking in every little detail. “Wow. You are astonishing”

She pulled him in close for a kiss. This seemed to be the result Murphy wanted and he hummed happily into her mouth. They stayed close, foreheads touching, breathing in each other, for a moment. Murphy broke the silence.

“Did you ever think we’d get here?” He asked, his voice soft and genuine. “I mean, I always hoped that we’d get to this point. But I honestly never thought that moments like this would happen”

“Ever since I met you, I hoped this would happen. But I never thought…” Emori drifted off, looking away. “People like me didn’t get happy endings”

Murphy took her hand into his, rubbing his thumb along the back of it. “Well, I will do everything I can so the two of us can have our happy ending. I promise”

“Don’t you mean the three of us?” Emori said slyly. Murphy’s mouth dropped open. He dropped her hand and rushed his to her stomach, feeling over it softly. Emori giggled. “Jackson said you won’t able to feel anything for a few more weeks”

“Mom?” Murphy asked, stumbling over his words. Emori nodded. He gasped, tears forming in his eyes. “Dad?”

“Yes, John, we’re going to be parents!” Emori giggled, realization dawning on her. “We’re going to be parents!”

Murphy leaned in to kiss her, pulling away at the last second. “How long have you known?”

“A week,” she said guiltily. “I just hadn’t found a good time to tell you”

“Jackson knew for a week before you told me?” Murphy growled.

“To his credit, I made him swear he wouldn’t tell anyone, even you. Under threat of harm”

“You threatened Jackson?” Murphy asked, amazed. “I think I love you even more now”

Emori’s face fell. “How are we going to raise a child? Neither of us had happy childhoods and…”

“Hey, we’ll figure it out together. And we’ve got friends, remember? We can always ask them for help if we need it,” Murphy kissed her forehead. “Happy ending, right?”

“Happy ending”

And that's what they got. Despite their initial fears, they turned out to be fine at parenting. Much to everyone’s surprise, Murphy was a fantastic father. He knew exactly what their son needed every time, as though he had an instinct for it. In the end they had everything they wanted.

They got their happy ending.


	7. Mackson: Sick

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I really like Mackson, okay? And they were severely underrepresented in the show. And their time in the bunker is, as the cool kids say “FREE REAL ESTATE”. So yes, I’ll probably write more Mackson just because I love them
> 
> Warning for vomit and medical stuff

Miller laid on his back in his bed, all too well aware of the pain radiating throughout his body. He was most likely late for work, but the feeling radiating through his body prevented him from getting up. Indra would be mad, no, pissed, that he was late to his shift and would most likely send someone to come check on him. He dreaded that moment when one of his fellow guard members or maybe Indra herself barged in to find him helpless in bed, barely able to move. 

He wasn’t sure how long he laid there in bed, unmoving, but when he heard the door to his room open he knew it was for him.

“Nathan, why are you still in bed?” Indra’s sharp voice cut through his head. He groaned in response and she shook him. “Do you want to be thrown into the pit?”

Miller shook his head, not daring to move too much. Even though he barely moved, nausea took over his body. He gagged weakly to the side, then managed out a weak “hurts”.

“Get a doctor,” Indra ordered, considerably softer. Footsteps faded off into the distance and the lights in his room snapped on to full brightness. He could hear his roommates groaning around him. Indra barked at them to leave and they did, not without groaning and cursing at Miller for being the cause of their rude awakening. 

Indra disappeared and for a second, fear took over Miller’s body. He was in agony and one of the few people who he trusted had just abandoned him here. He was going to die, either here on his bed or in the fighting pits. If he made it to then. 

A cold hand on the back of his neck shocked him back to reality. Indra was turning him on his side, positioning him so any vomit would land in a mop bucket she had found. Unfortunately, what Indra had not realized was that the movement and position caused Miller even more pain and nausea. Miller heaved into the bucket as extreme pain claimed his body. He emptied the meager contents of his stomach and curled into himself.

“Nathan, when did this start?” Indra asked, keeping her distance. “How long?”

“Three days,” he managed weakly, before another bout of heaving overtook his body. 

When it finished, Indra took hold of Miller and moved him back to his back. She rubbed his chest and hummed softly. It always surprised him when Indra gave into maternal instincts. He just stared at her, occasionally whimpering against his will. 

Indra’s hand rubbed over his stomach and Miller let out a pained gasp, heaving into the bucket again. He pushed her hand away. She had brushed over a spot that had sent pain shooting throughout his chest. All of the pain throughout his body seemed to originate from this spot. ‘ _That would be important’,_ Miller remarked to himself, ‘ _I need to tell Jackson that when he gets here’._

_If he gets here._

The pain increased, this time without Indra’s hand impacting it. Miller managed no more than a weak whimper. He curled in on himself, weakly pushing away Indra’s hands. He desperately wanted the comfort they provided, but there was no way that he was going to act that weak in front of his boss, one of the most frightening people in the bunker. Indra seemed to sense this, backing away from him. 

“It's alright, Nathan. A doctor will be here soon,” Indra’s voice seemed far away. It felt like Miller was sinking and nothing could pull him back. Through the pain, he gasped for breath and squeezed his eyes shut with every increasing jolt that coursed through his body. He didn’t even realize it when Jackson rushed through the door and to his side. 

“Nate! I need you to focus on my voice. Can you do that for me?” Jackson’s voice cut through the haze in his head and grounded him in reality. Miller nodded, reaching for Jackson. Jackson took his hand, rubbing soothing circles into his palm. “What’s happening?”

Miller managed an incoherent sentence, cutting out halfway through to heave into the bucket beside him. Thankfully, Indra filled Jackson in.

“He said he hurts. He’s been sick and curled up in pain ever since I got here. And he reacted when I touched his stomach earlier.”

“Where?” Jackson’s voice was full of concern. Concern that Miller desperately wanted to ease. He sat up through the pain, muttering out “I’m fine” and trying to push away the hands that pushed him back down. 

With a speed that impressed Miller, Indra’s hand was on his stomach, pressing lightly into the place that pain originated. Miller tried, and failed, to stifle a groan and fell limply back onto the mattress. That action alone seemed to clue Jackson into his problem.

“Nate, I need you to stay still and try to relax as much as possible,” Jackson ran his hand over Miller’s forehead in attempts to soothe him. He glanced at Indra. “Call a stretcher. We need to get him to medical now”

Indra did as asked. She returned moments later. “Will he be okay?”

“I hope so. It looks like appendicitis, but it may be more than that based on the amount of pain he’s in right now. It’s possible that his appendix burst and he’s suffering from peritonitis,” Jackson ran his eyes over his boyfriend. “I won’t know until I can run some tests, but I hope he’ll recover”

“He said the pain started three days ago. I don’t know if that matters,” Indra said.

“It does,” Jackson’s expression darkened. “Nate, you need to tell me things like this. Three days ago, this would have been no big deal to take care of. Probably some antibiotics and maybe a simple surgery. Now…”

Jackson’s voice faltered. Miller reached for his boyfriend’s hand, gripping it as hard as he could. Jackson seemed to be debating something in his head, before making a decision. He shook off Miller’s hand and dug into his bag, searching around for something. When he found what he was looking for, a syringe full of sedative, he turned back to Miller and laid his arm flat against the bed. 

“I’m going to give you something for the pain, Nate. It might make you feel tired, loopy, or lightheaded. Don’t fight it,” Jackson said, injecting the sedative. He disposed of the needle, then grabbed Nate’s hand and pressed gentle kisses to his forehead, murmuring comfort. 

The time between the injection of the sedative and getting Nate to medical was tense. Nate flirted with the edge of consciousness the whole time, asking for Jackson or whimpering in pain. He reacted to every bump and turn on the way to medical, which broke Jackson’s heart. When they finally got to medical Abby rushed over, abandoning a patient with a mild scrape above his eye. 

“What happened?” She asked, examining Miller cautiously. 

“Looks like appendicitis, but from the severe reaction I’m guessing it burst,” Jackson said. “He was in so much pain, Abby… I had to give him a sedative… I couldn’t stand…”

“Okay. Let's do a PET scan and figure out what's happening in there.”

At Abby’s words, Jackson left Miller’s side. Miller was not okay with that, groaning and flailing at the loss of contact. The stretcher started moving again and a pair of firm hands, Indra’s, held him in place. Machines whirred around him, but he was too out of it to understand what was happening. Instead, he grabbed for Jackson desperately, fighting Indra’s hands.

A different female voice, Abby’s, registered in his mind. She knelt next to him and spoke plainly. “Nathan, you’re moving too much. I’m giving you a sedative that will knock you out for a bit.” He only felt the sharp pinch in his arm before he faded off into darkness.

\-------------------------------------

When he came to, the pain was gone. In its place was a fuzzy dullness. He could feel, but the feelings were soft and fuzzy all over. A hand was on his and somebody was resting their head up against his side. Miller wiggled, waking the sleeper.

Jackson’s eyes were groggy when he came to. He took a second to orient himself before realizing Miller was awake. “You…”

“Hey Jacks,” Miller smiled. Jackson smacked his cheek lightly. “Ow,” Miller rubbed his stinging cheek and shifted away. “What was that for?”

“You know exactly what that was for!” Jackson grabbed his face, forcing eye contact. “I am your boyfriend and your doctor, Nate. When something’s wrong, you tell me. And abdominal pain counts as ‘something wrong’. It’s serious stuff”

“But, I’m fine Jacks. There's nothing to worry about”

“You crashed on the table!”

The words sat heavy in the air. Miller felt his chest constrict and breathing became hard. Jackson was crying, he noticed.

“Your heart stopped beating mid-surgery and it took everything we had to get you back. You are still severely dehydrated and the infection in your gut is still there. We did what we could to fix you, but there was only so much we could do. You were really sick, Nathan. Abby and I didn’t know if we could…”

Miller pulled Jackson in for a kiss, stopping his babbling. “Hey, look, I messed up big time and I’m sorry. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier and that I let it get this bad.” Miller brushed his hand through Jackson’s hair. “But I worry about you too. And you already have so much going on, with Abby and your job and your own issues. I don’t want to pile on to you”

“Nate, telling me you have abdominal pain isn’t piling on. It's taking care of yourself” 

“But...”

“Let me finish. If we're going to get through this and get out of this bunker, we need to depend on each other no matter what. So, from now on there is no more ‘piling on’. We tell each other everything, no matter how big or small. Understand?”

“Yes,” Nate was rewarded with a kiss. “But this agreement goes both ways and I will hold you to it”

Jackson smiled. “I wouldn’t want it any other way. Now get some sleep. I just removed a chunk of your internal organs. We both need some time to recover from that”

Nate scooted over, patting the bed. Jackson squeezed in and together they drifted off into blissful sleep.


	8. Post-Transcendence: And So We Meet Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ending of the series, like it happened, except the whole “the dead don’t transcend” is a lie and they do. They can also choose to not transcend and spend the rest of their lives with Clarke and the gang.
> 
> So many spoilers. Mainly for 7x16, but also character deaths.

The being took the form of Madi. It hit Clarke hard to see her daughter again, knowing it wasn’t her, but her daughter was safe and happy and healthy and no longer in pain. The being made sure Clarke knew before beginning its information dump on Clarke.

Clarke was so distracted by Madi’s face that she barely registered half of what was being said to her. She caught that transcendence was a choice to be made, not forced, and that some of her friends had decided to return, but that was it.

It didn’t dawn on her until she turned the corner and saw the camp. It was much fuller than she had expected. She turned back to the being in shock.

“How many stayed? I…” she could think of a few people who would agree to stay with her, but not this many.

The being smiled. “Cadogan was wrong, Clarke. Death is not the end”

Clarke glanced to the camp and the being dissipated into the air. She broke out into a run, racing towards the camp. Murphy spotted her first, alerting the camp to her presence. He greeted her before anyone else could get there. 

“You’re gonna love this,” he smirked, turning back towards the camp. 

Clarke searched the faces. She spotted a few friends who had survived the whole ordeal and smiled. It was the others who had stayed that made her heart swell. Abby raced towards her from across the camp, Kane in tow. She wrapped Clarke in a tight hug.

“Mom,” Clarke said, shocked. “You’re really…”

“Hi, baby,” Abby responded. Neither of them realized they had begun crying until Abby wiped a tear from Clarke’s cheek. “I’m here”

Kane awkwardly cleared his throat. Clarke giggled softly. “What are you waiting for?”

Kane joined their hug, wrapping his arms around both Griffin women. They stood like that for a while, sharing a quiet moment. Eventually Abby pulled back, breaking the hug.

“You should go to the others,” she said.

“But I just got you…”

Abby cut her off. “We have plenty of time. Go”

Clarke left them on the beach, heading closer to the camp. She spotted Octavia talking to a tall, bald man. It was Lincoln, Clarke realized. He came back for Octavia, to be with her. He spotted Clarke from a distance and they shared a curt nod. There would be a chance for them to talk in depth later, but they had never been close and had never been each other’s priority. 

She spotted Diyoza with Garbriel, Echo, Hope, and Jordan by the water. Diyoza waved her over.

“Look who finally showed up,” Diyoza quipped. “Took you long enough”

“Mom!” Hope said. 

“I got held up,” Clarke retorted. “Something about not being allowed to transcend”

“Well, we're glad you made it,” Garbriel smiled. “I never thought I’d be back here”

“I don’t think any of us did,” Echo said. 

“Have had the chance to see my parents?” Jordan asked.

“Your parents?” Clarke was surprised. 

“They’re over there,” Jordan pointed to the fire, where three people sat chatting. 

Harper and Monty sat with a third person, someone with curly black hair who looked suspiciously like someone she had known. Clarke dismissed herself. She approached the fire cautiously.

“Hey princess”

The comment confirmed her suspicions. Bellamy was the third person. She froze, staring at him trying to find the right thing to say. Bellamy patted the log next to him. “Sit”

Clarke sat next to him hesitantly. She focused on Harper and Monty. Their voices sounded like they were coming from underwater and she felt like she was drowning.

“Hey,” She jumped as Bellamy placed a hand on her back. “You okay, princess?”

“How can you forgive me?” Clarke said aggressively. Bellamy shot a glance at Monty and Harper.

“Can you excuse us for a second?” They nodded. Bellamy led Clarke off a ways.

“I killed you,” Clarke said, frustrated. “How can you forgive me for that? How can you come back for me after everything I did to you?”

“It’s okay, Clarke…”

“No! It's not!” Clarke shouted, pushing him away. “You died and it was my fault”

“Clarke, I understand why you did it. I’m not mad at you,” Bellamy took her hand. “You were trying to protect Madi. If the roles were switched and it was Octavia in danger, I can’t say I wouldn’t do the same thing”

Clarke let the tears fall as Bellamy wrapped her in a tight hug. It took her back to all the times before, the other times he had hugged her when she had most needed it. Outside Arkadia, Becca’s lab, on Eligius, after exposing the primes. Just like all the other times, his hug provided the exact comfort that she needed. She melted into it, letting him take her weight. 

They were frozen in the moment, Bellamy holding Clarke and Clarke holding Bellamy. 

“They’re back!”

The shout from the beach snapped Bellamy and Clarke from their trance. Clarke looked up to Bellamy who was smiling.

“C’mon, you’re gonna like this,” Bellamy said. He took her hand and led her down the beach, where a hunting party had just returned. Indra, Gaia, Niylah, and a dark haired woman stood with their bounty, talking and laughing. The dark haired woman looked so familiar.

Lexa.

Clarke broke free from Bellamy’s grip, racing towards the beach. She barely slowed as she approached Lexa and hugged her with enough force to nearly knock them over. 

“Clarke?” Lexa seemed frazzled, hugging back hesitantly.

“You’re back!” Clarke beamed happily. 

“Of course, Clarke,” Lexa said. “I’ll always come back for you”

Clarke nuzzled her nose to Lexa’s collarbone. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t save you”

“It’s okay Clarke, we're here together now."

Clarke pulled Lexa in for a sloppy kiss, not caring who was staring or what they had to say about them kissing so publicly. Lexa pulled away.

“Are you sure, Clarke? This didn’t turn out well last time,” Lexa bit her lip nervously.

“It's the end of the world,” Clarke giggled, “we can do whatever the hell we want”

“Seems like you’re finally coming around, princess.” Bellamy chuckled from nearby. 

Lexa raised an eyebrow. “Princess?”

“She loves it,” Bellamy smirked.

“Shut up,” Clarke laughed. “Don’t encourage her”

“Too late...princess,” Lexa smiled shyly. Clarke rolled her eyes. 

“So, it's the end of the human race,” Clarke took Lexa’s hand, “what do you want to do?”

“As long as I’m with you, I’m happy”

In that moment, all Clarke’s dreams came true. The sun shined down warmly on her face. The trees around her danced in the breeze. A gust of wind carried the scent of wildflowers. This was the dream, but it was also her reality.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry Bellarke shippers, this is a Clexa story. Your time will come.


	9. Modern AU: Gettin’ DECKED in These Halls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I promised a Bellarke fic at some point 
> 
> Merry Christmas!

Like most, if not all, stupid ideas, it was Murphy who came up with the idea.

**MISTLEFOE**

Somewhere he saw the idea and just _haaaad_ to do it.

Bellamy thought it was the stupidest idea he had ever heard. So, perfectly on par for Murphy.

His sister, Octavia, was in the same friend group as Murphy. They got together every Christmas for a Secret Santa. Bellamy never had the guts to invite himself.

When Murphy blindsided him at work one day, he was (pleasantly) surprised.

“Hey. So, you're joining our Secret Santa this year,” Murphy said while they restocked a particularly empty shelf.

“What?”

“C’mon man, you’ve been waiting for this day for ages, haven't you?” Murphy teased. “10 to 30 bucks is the price range. We’ll be randomly selecting tomorrow”

Skip to a day later and Bellamy’s hand was stuck down a long, hopefully clean sock, fishing for a small piece of paper. He pulled it out and immediately was swarmed with instruction not to look until later. He had been assured that his name was not in the sock, so he was safe to just go. He waved goodbye, then headed off to a long shift at work.

When he got home, he fished the slip of paper from his wallet. Hesitantly he opened the slip.

Clarke Griffin

To be honest, Bellamy had no clue who Clarke was. She had been over a few times and Octavia mentioned her constantly, but all he had retained was her blonde hair and blue eyes. Other than that, Clarke was just another one of O’s friends.

When Octavia got home from karate that evening, he asked for her help.

“I’m a part of the Secret Santa this year…”

“I heard”

“...and I need some help…”

“Of course you do”

“What should I get Clarke Griffin?”

Octavia laughed. “So that's who you got”

“Yes”

“Thank goodness. I was hoping you wouldn’t get me”

“Ha ha, very funny O. What should I get Clarke?”

“Well, she’s always had this thing for levers…” Octavia watched her brother’s face twist in confusion. “I’m joking, Bell. She’s an artist. She likes to draw and do artsy things”

“So, a sketchbook…?”

Octavia stared at him. “I’ll let you figure it out”

She rolled her eyes and strolled off to her room.

The next day at work, he bumped into Murphy. “So, what’s your plan?”

“I asked O for help”

“Ah, so you don’t have me or O. There's a few more options though. Haven’t narrowed it down yet”

“Shut up, Murphy”

Bellamy procrastinated getting his gift. He found a reason not to go look until the day of. That day, he found himself staring at the wall of an art supply store for an unreasonably long time.

“Can I help you?” A kind, older woman smiled at him with pity. He must have looked as lost as he was.

“Uh, yeah… I’m looking for a Secret Santa gift for a friend. Well, a friend of my sister’s. She’s an artist. I have no idea what im doing”

“Well, what's your budget?”

“10 to 30 dollars. I don’t really know what she has already, so maybe something generic”

The woman seemed to glance over the options. She pulled out a simple sketchbook and pencil set and extended them to Bellamy. “This is good. 25 dollars and it's pretty simple. Can never have too many sketchbooks and pencils”

“Thanks”

“I can wrap it for you,” the lady smiled empathetically. “Lets get you checked out."

Bellamy showed up 15 minutes late to the Christmas party at Monty’s. Nobody seemed to care. A few others were missing, so Monty let him in.

“Drinks are in the kitchen,” Monty said, dashing off to take care of something.

Bellamy ducked through the crowd and into the kitchen. He made it to the doorway into the kitchen, where a blonde girl was chatting with a darker haired girl.

“Excuse me,”

The girls didn’t move.

“Excuse me!” he said more forcefully.

Still the girls didn’t move.

“Excuse… oh, never mind,” he pushed past the two girls. But he barely made it into the doorway when the blonde punched him in the shoulder.

“Ow! What was that for?!”

The blonde just giggled. “I finally got someone!”

“That cause everyone has been too afraid to come near you since you almost knocked Finn out”

“Do you have something against men?” Bellamy asked, frowning.

“No, silly. You walked under it, so you’re fair game”

“What?”

The brown haired girl pointed up. “Mistlefoe”

“Sorry, what?”

“Mistlefoe. It's like mistletoe, but instead of kissing its punching,” the brown haired girl explained. “Murphy moved it here this year so people couldn’t avoid it like they did last year”

“Oh,” Bellamy felt stupid. “Well, I’m gonna go get a drink”

“And I’m going to drag Clake somewhere else to avoid other victims”

Before he could say anything, the girls were gone. Bellamy fixed himself a drink and made sure to avoid the doorway while others were passing through. He drifted through the night, hoping that the exchange would come quickly and he could go home. He found himself in a conversation with Clarke at some point, but it didn't last very long. Even though she had punched him earlier (and pretty hard as punching game punches go), he was drawn to her somehow. When the Secret Santa came around, Octavia seemed to sense this and directed him down to sit between her and Clarke. They shared a glance and settled down to receive their gifts. When Clarke got her gift, she glanced to Bellamy and giggled. He responded with a soft smile.

“Hey Bellamy,” Murphy shouted. “Catch!”

He launched a wrapped gift at full speed. It hit Bellamy hard in the chest and bounced into Clarke’s lap.

“I think you’re missing something,” she said with a coy smile.

“I hope it didn’t…” he motioned to her lap, where gift had landed on top her gift, “...break anything”

“Oh. No, it’s good. It’s pretty soft and light,” Clarke passed him the gift. He grinned like a happy puppy.

“Thanks”

Murphy had gotten him a jacket. It was perfectly his size and covered in decorative patches. He shrugged on the jacket and grinned.

“Thanks man, I love it”

Murphy smiled and tipped his head knowingly.

The rest of the night passed with glances between Clarke and Bellamy. Their friends, mainly Octavia and Murphy tried to get them together, but the moment they were engaged in a conversation with each other one of them would be pulled away. Bellamy savored the rare moments they got together.

He found himself passing into the kitchen (under the MISTLFOE) as Clarke exited and took his chance.

He didn’t slap her hard, just hard enough to be an actual slap. It got her attention.

“Now, why did you do that?”

He pointed up, “Mistlefoe”

“Right, mistlefoe” Clarke giggle. “It’s a shame it’s not actually mistletoe”

“Well, I don’t see any indication of it being exclusively mistlefoe. It could be interpreted as mistletoe”

“I suppose that’s true,” Clarke agreed. “What does that imply?”

“This, maybe,” he leaned down and gave Clarke a gentle peck on the lips. She smiled.

“Geeezz Bellamy. What a cop out! You call that a kiss?” A very drunk Murphy called from the other room. They turned to see everyone in the room staring at them. Clarke chuckled softly.

“You heard the man,” she teased. “Better fix that kiss”

This time, Bellamy kissed her for real. He was glad she kissed back just as eagerly as he did. Their friends cheered and wolf-whistled as they pulled apart.

“So, I would like to do this again sometime,” Bellamy said awkwardly.

“Yeah, me too” Clarke agreed.

“Kiss her again!” Someone shouted.

“I’ve got no objections”

So Bellamy kissed her.

And he never stopped.


	10. Modern AU: A Very, Merry Christmas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kabby(ish). 
> 
> Meery Chrispmore!

Christmas at the Kane house was a tradition. Vera and Harry Kane had always opened their house to anyone who needed a Christmas dinner, didn’t have a family, or just wanted to come over, they didn’t discriminate. Marcus Kane made a conscious decision to continue this tradition into his life. 

His friends, the ones who came over when his parents hosted Christmas, came every year without fail. Thelonius Jaha always brought a sweet apple pie. Jacopo Sinclair, Charles Pike and Callie Cartwrig, his three best friends, showed up before the sun rose and stayed late into the night, sometimes overnight (Vera didn’t mind that Callie slept over. She trusted Callie’s ability to stand up for herself, but had made it abundantly clear to all of the boys what would happen if they tried anything. Harry didn’t care). And Jake Griffin, whose home was less appealing than the Kane’s house on Christmas, would sludge in, a loopy grin on his face, sporting a bag of gifts and a black eye from one of his brothers (though all of them had their suspicions it wasn't a brother). Along with the occasional relative or guest, it was a happy gathering in the Kane household.

One year, Jake dragged Marcus’s nemesis, Abby Griffin, to the household and announced they were dating. Marcus had a feeling that this was revenge for him beating Jake for the captain position on the soccer team and sent sneers in the direction of both Abby and Jake throughout dinner. His mother scolded him sternly for this and he stormed off to his room, not to be seen again. The only thing that pulled him out of his fuming was Charles, Callie, and Jacopo noisily entering the room with a tin of cookies, a bottle of whiskey and a R-rated movie respectively. It was enough to lighten the mood, though Marcus didn't speak to Jake for a week afterwards.

Abby became a part of the family after that. She won over Marcus’s friends, who in turn convinced him to try to create a sense of civility. The more they spoke, the more they realized that they quite enjoyed each other’s company. Their rivalry turned friendly and bearable. Abby was invited over more and more, when the gang hung out on the weekends. He felt himself harboring a growing crush on Abby, who was clueless of his feelings.

Unfortunately, Jake beat him to Abby. They started dating senior year, went off to college together and then got engaged and subsequently married, the summer after they graduated (in Abby’s case, the first time). And then they moved.

They stopped coming to Christmas at the Kane's house. They exchanged a card and a present through the mail every year, but they never saw each other. Marcus watched as they faded away from him, no longer a part of the tight knit group they had established. He watched them travel the world together, have a baby together (a girl named Clarke, who was unmistakably Jake’s child), and make new friends through the annual Christmas card. Not much changed on his end, other than the death of his father and Jacopo and Thelonius getting married.

It wasn’t until ages later (many, many, many years after she had left, but Marcus was too lazy to keep count) that he saw her again, in the flesh. Two weeks before Christmas, the house on the corner was purchased by a single mother and her daughter. No one ever saw them go in or out, but the cars moved, so they were there. He left cookies and a note welcoming them to the neighborhood on their doorstep. He had tried a few times to deliver them to the people living there, but neither mother nor daughter ever seemed to be there. 

He met the pair a week before Christmas. He decided to invite them to Christmas at his house. He doubted he would catch them while home, but he was going to try. If not, he would leave a note in the mailbox.

A response to his knock shocked him. There were muffled noises inside, then the door swung open.

“Hi, I’m Marcus, a neighbor. I was just wondering if….”

“Marcus?”

“Abby?”

There in front of him Abby stood, hair slightly disheveled and still in her work scrubs. She was older, but still as beautiful as the day she had left. He gaped like a fish out of water.

She must have been just as surprised, because she shared his expression.

“Mom, who is it?” A young woman asked from inside. 

“Uh….”

Marcus snapped out of his stupor. “I’m Marcus Kane. Your mom and I grew up together. Back in Arkadia…”

“Yeah”

“So this is uncle Marcus!” Clarke beamed. “Mom talks about you all the time. She told me about all of the Christmas parties at your house”

“Speaking of Christmas…” he turned back to Abby, “We still get together every year. If you want to come over, I’d be glad to have you. You don’t have to come, if you don’t want to. But I’d love to have you over. They’ll be a few other kids Clarke’s age there, so she can come if she wants too. She can come even if you don't… I mean can’t...I mean…”

“Marcus”

“Hmm?”

“You’re rambling”

“Oh,” Marcus shuffled his feet. “Well, my doors are open”

Abby smiled. “We’ll be there if we’re available”

“Yep”

Abby closed the door, leaving Marcus on the porch. 

Every night until Christmas, Abby haunted his dreams. She was there: senior class president, dressed up at prom, at Christmases past, even in her scrubs and messy hair as he had last seen her. Every night he longed to hug her, to hear her laugh, to return to how it had been before she left Arkadia,before she left him. He’d wake up sad and kind of horny for her which he would shake from his mind with a freezing cold showing, a negative reinforcement for the thoughts. _ Don’t be horny, Marcus Kane _ , he’d joke to himself. _ Horny boys get the cold shower of unfun to start the day _ .

Maybe it was worth it. 

He was even more disappointed when Christmas day rolled around and Abby wasn’t at his house. The first few guests came in just before nine. It was the Blake siblings, children of Aurora Blake. Aurora was a past love of Marcus’s who had passed in a tragic car accident. He did what he could to support the siblings both because he had come to care for them like a father while dating their mother and because he had a sneaking suspicion that his extreme resemblance to Octavia was not the coincidence that Aurora had chalked it up to be. Either way, he loved the kids like his own. They were some of his first guests every year.

From there, others trickled in slowly. “The Delinquents”, as the ragtag gang of teens he had amassed as his own endearingly called themselves, rolled up just after noon with the promise that they would get the party started. A few adult friends, including Callie, Charles, and Sinclair, showed up in the late afternoon. He was glad they were, but as the hours ticked by the sense of dread that Abby would not show. Those fears were cemented when Clarke showed up, alone.

He greeted her at the door. “Hello”

“Hey, Uncle Marcus. I hope I'm not too late. Mom said it went into the night and people are still here, so I assumed…”

“No, you're good. This goes as late as you want to stay. It can go into tomorrow, if everyone decides to stay,” Marcus joked good naturedly. 

“That sounds like a lot”

“It is,” Marcus finally gave into the urge, peering behind Clarke. “Is your mother coming?”

“She’s busy,” Clarke admitted. “But, she did send cookies”

Marcus shook off his disappointment. “Awesome, you can put them in the kitchen. Its right through there”

Clarke took off into the house. Marcus did one last sweep of the outside, hoping to see Abby, then closed the door. Dread filled his stomach. He knew that he had given Abby a choice to come. Evidently, Abby had chosen not to come. He couldn’t blame her, really. She had chosen to leave with Jake so long ago and Marcus had given her no reason to come back. 

  
  


“Kane,” Bellamy’s voice snapped him out of his trance.

“Hm?”

“Are you okay? You don’t look like you're fully here with us,” Bellamy asked. 

“Yeah. I was just hoping that a friend would be joining us, but it looks like that won’t be happening,” Marcus sighed.

Bellamy chuckled. “NIght’s still young”

“Yeah”

Bellamy scooted off to somewhere else. Marcus let himself get washed away by the crowd. He tried to stay engaged, but always felt like he was drifting off. He laughed at jokes and contributed to conversations, but he never felt fully engaged. Around 5:30, long after he had accepted Abby would not be coming, he heard a knock on the door. Curious to whom it might be, he answered it.

There stood Abby, looking tired but happy. “Sorry I’m late”

He grinned. “You’re not late. The party is just starting”

“Liar”

“Okay, you’re a little late,” he chuckled.

“Were you worried that I wasn’t going to show up?” Abby teased. Marcus blushed.

“Maybe a little”

“Well it's good to know that I’m missed” Abby stepped inside, letting the door swing shut behind her. “Now, who’s here?”

“A couple of teens from the neighborhood. I think Clarke knows a few from school,” Marcus gestured toward the couch. “Oh and a few old friends are here too. Callie and Charles and Jacopo. Thelonius was here earlier, but he went home. I think his son is still here, somewhere”

“I haven’t seen them in such a long time!” Abby said excitedly. 

“Last time I saw Callie, she was making margaritas in the kitchen,” Marcus said. Abby swept past him and into the kitchen in search of her old best friend. Jacopo Sinclair stepped up next to him, taking Abby’s vacated spot.

“Was that who I think it was?”

“Depends,” Marcus turned to him. “If you thought it was Abby Griffin, you’re correct”

“When did she come back to Arkadia?”

“A few weeks ago. And her daughter is here too. She looks just like Jake”

“Okay, so it wasn’t just me”

Marcus laughed. “No, she's definitely Jake’s girl”

The night improved considerably after Abby showed up. The general atmosphere gained a sense of joy that Marcus was certain was missing before she showed up. Abby was a hit with the teens, playing the cool mom part and embarrassing Clarke with funny stories. Among the adults, Abby was a missing piece of the puzzle and they finally felt whole again. She became the center of attention as she lit up the room and Marcus was thrilled to bask in her glow.

At some point, later into the night after the sun had gone down, the party migrated to the living room. There were a million conversations going on at once, yet Marcus could focus on nothing but Abby. His pinpoint focus was eventually yanked away when Octavia’s loud voice took over the room.

“Okay, but what's the best Christmas movie?”

“Die Hard!” Clarke shouted.

“As much as I love the movie, it's not really a Christmas movie,” Raven pointed out.

“It's set at Christmastime. Therefore it's a Christmas movie” Clarke insisted.

“Okay, Clarke, we get it,” Octavia groaned, making a show. “What about everyone else? Any festive Christmas movies”

“I like A Dog Named Christmas,” Harper volunteered.

“What about you, Marcus?” Bellamy asked.

He sighed. “Well, Die Hard is a good movie, and a pretty interesting choice, but it's not the best Christmas movie. I’m not really sure. I have always loved the original Miracle on 34th Street, but if I have to choose a single best, it's going to be…”

“It's A Wonderful Life,” Abby finished for him.

“Yes”

“Never seen it,” Octavia declared.

“What?” Abby gasped. “There's no way. Vera, Marcus’s mother, used to make us watch it every Christmas. It was our tradition”

“That tradition hasn’t happened in years,” Callie offered. “After you and Jake moved away, things got less formal. We’d just get drunk and struggle our way through the movie. Eventually, we dropped the movie and just got drunk”

“Ah, yes. The good old days,” Sinclair quipped. “Getting so wasted that we forgot Christmas happened and woke up to a bare Christmas tree. Then going robber-hunting and nearly killing Marcus’s parents”

“Key word almost”

“It was one time!” Charles laughed. “And it wasn’t parents, plural. It was Harry and he almost deserved it”

Abby grabbed for the remote, mumbling about traditions and stupid friends and getting drunk. The movie flashed to life on the screen and the room went silent. It stayed that way until the end of the movie. As the end credits rolled around, people seemed to shake off the silent trance.

“I have to say, that's my new favorite festive Christmas movie,” Clarke admitted. “Die Hard is still the best Christmas movie, don't get me wrong. I just really enjoyed that”

“Now, I want to get involved in this other tradition you have. The one that involves getting really, really drunk,” Monty joked. The other teen cheered and looked at Kane.

“It's okay with me…” the excitement in the room grew substantially, but he stopped them before they could get too into it, “...but anyone drinking needs to surrender their licence and car keys. I am not having any of you drive home the tiniest bit drunk. There are more than enough places to sleep in this house, so go home completely sober or stay here overnight. Do you all understand me?”

A chorus of “ yes sir”s and keys jingling made it clear that he had gotten his point across. Almost everyone cleared out, except for Bellamy, Kane, and Abby.

“Are you going to join them?” Kane asked.

“I want to stay sober. To keep an eye on O. I don’t want anything to happen to her,” Bellamy responded.

“I promise I’ll stay sober and keep and eye on her if you want a drink or two. I won’t let anything happen,” Kane said.

Bellamy looked at the kitchen, tempted. “Are you sure? I don’t want to ruin the night for you”

“Go! Have fun. I’ll be fine”

Bellamy took off to the kitchen with one last “thank you”. That left Kane alone in the room with Abby.

“So…” Kane started.

“So…” Abby responded.

“How have things been?”

“Good. We’re adjusting well to life here. It hasn’t changed too much since I left,” Abby smiled politely. “I’ve got a nice job at the hospital as head of surgery. And I took Clarke to Sardo’s Pizza a few days ago. I can’t believe that place is still open”

“I may be the reason it's still open,” Marcus joked. Abby giggled softly. “It's nice having you around again. I...we really missed you”

“Awe, that sweet,” Abby’s tone made it clear that she was more than aware of how much he had missed having her around.

“Actually, there's something I want to talk to you about,” Marcus chewed his lip cautiously. “I know I might be overstepping a boundary here, but I couldn’t stop thinking about you. I like you, Abby, more than as a friend”

“Are you propositioning me, Marcus Kane?”

“No!” He backpedaled. “I was wondering if you might like to go on a date sometime?”

“Are you attempting to court me, Marcus Kane?”

“Yes,” he admitted. He stood from the couch, bowing and extending his hand. “With your consent, of course”

She took his hand, standing up. “Well, I consent, my good sir”

He dipped down and kissed her on the lips. It was a soft chaste kiss, testing the water.

“Now, I do believe that is a little forward of you,” Abby blushed.

“Mistletoe,” he said, pointing up. “I had to, its tradition”

She looked up to see he was right. Mistletoe was hung in the middle of the room. Whose insane idea it was, she had no idea, but she silently thanked them.

“So, yes to the date?” 


	11. Arkadia: Influenza

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this time of plague, there is nothing better to write about. It turned into Kabby (sorry)
> 
> Set between season 2 and 3

Breakouts of an illness weren’t new to the doctors of the Ark. In space, they had their fair experience dealing with illnesses that tore through a population. Everything from the mundane (Strep, bronchitis, and the flu) to the strange and uncomfortable (hand, foot, and mouth disease, pink eye, and the occasional STD, much to Abby’s horror). But on the Ark, they had state of the art technology and all the modern medicine a doctor might need to fix most things, so the illness would pass with few serious cases.

No one had thought about the implications of diseases when they made the decision to come to the ground. There were other medical issues that would come if they stayed on the Ark (hypoxia, starvation, dehydration, and, everyone’s favorite, death), so the unknown diseases of the ground became an afterthought. 

Luckily, when it came, it came during peacetime. 

Micheal Cornson, a healthy sixteen-year-old boy, came in one afternoon, after working the lunch shift with a cough, a sore throat, and tightness in his chest. Abby, who had her hands full as chancellor along with head doctor, passed him off to Jackson. He was plenty knowledgeable to deal with a cough, she mused. Jackson gave him some throat soothers and told him to come back if symptoms worsened. 

That night, Abby was awoken by a pounding on her door. She opened it, only to be dragged to medical by a messenger from Jackson. Ingrid Cornson, Micheal’s mother had shown up a few hours earlier. Micheal’s cough had only gotten worse. It was a desperate hack now, as Micheal struggled for air with each breath. But that wasn’t why Jackson had called for her.

Overnight, their population of sick people had skyrocketed from Micheal to twelve others, who were showing moderate versions of Micheal’s symptoms. It made sense. Micheal had always been the one to have the severe symptoms of whatever illness was passing through on the Ark. And he had been on lunch duty the day before. So Abby and Jackson steeled themselves for what was to come. 

By noon the next day, medical had twenty five sick patients and Abby had declared a quarantine of anyone who had been in close contact with sick patients for an extended period of time. Which meant she and Jackson were unable to leave medical as they treated a steady stream of patients. Both doctors were exhausted and the pace they had to work wasn’t sustainable. It would be no good to the camp if neither of them could work. In this situation, a triage system wouldn’t work. There were simply too many people in and the symptoms were worrying even in milder cases. 

At some point, Abby wasn’t quite sure when she made a decision. She sent a protesting Jackson off to the cot in the corner to rest and started a modified triage system to lessen the burden on their already overwhelmed staff. The two nurses that had stayed in medical, knowing they wouldn’t be released anytime soon, would sort patients. Those with milder symptoms would be given a mask and sent back to their quarters to quarantine there. Those with severe symptoms would be sent to see a doctor, then treated as their symptoms required.

The system seemed to work. The virus, as they had determined, was spreading through nearly everyone in the camp, but the system that had been put in place seemed to be working. Abby, Jackson, and the nurses had come down with a mild case, but all had recovered quickly and were back on their feet in no time. Most patients had bounced back in a day or two. It was the critical care patients, the ones that required all day observation and help breathing, that scared Abby and Jackson. They knew there was an inevitability of losing a patient with a virus like this.

That didn’t make it any less devastating when Catherine Poils stopped breathing late one night. A half hour of chest compressions, defibrillation, and rescue breaths later, she was declared dead. Abby kept composure until she was alone. Losing her strength, she curled up on a bed and let out all the feelings she had been holding in. Jackson must have heard her. He joined her on the bed, wrapping her in a hug and letting her sob into his chest. 

“You know it's not your fault Abby”

“It doesn’t any of this easier”

“I know, I feel the same,” Jackson brushed through her hair, tears slipping from his eyes. “It's okay to cry."

“I know this sounds strange, but I miss Marcus,” Abby admitted.

Jackson chuckled. “Is that Abby Griffin admitting she misses Marcus Kane I hear?” Abby giggled into his chest. “If you’d said that when we were on the Ark, I probably would have checked you for a concussion. Or drugs”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yes,” Jackson responded. “Seriously, Abby. I’m really glad that you found someone who makes you happy. And our Kane isn't the same one from the Ark”

“What I would give to get a hug from him or a motivational speech,” Abby mused. “What I would give to have him just around”

“Then why not have him around?” Jackson proposed. Abby sat up.

“Jackson, Marcus is acting chancellor while I’m stuck in here. We can’t have him being exposed and getting sick. Our camp needs a leader”

“I wasn’t suggesting that he come in here. I was suggesting that you find some time to chat with him over the radio or through the partition,” Jackson said. “Something that keeps him safe and keeps you sane”

“Jackson, I can't…”

“You need to take care of yourself, Abby. You push that on everyone else, but you never take time for yourself,” Jackson rubbed a hand down her back. “As your doctor, I’m prescribing you at least 15 minutes with Kane and at least 4 hours of sleep every day”

“Jackson, I…”

“Don’t fight me on this, Abby”

Shouting from the other room pulled them out of their little bubble of happiness. The flaps that covered the doorway ruffled and a nurse huffed in.

“Dr. Giffin, Dr. Jackson, we need your help”

Abby looked to Jackson. “Back to work we go”

They were pulled back into the real world. A world of sick patients and tired doctors and scared populations. A world where consequences were real and could mean death. A world that Abby wished she was not a part of. But she was and she had to face reality.

Catherine Poils’s death seemed to be the turning point in their battle against the illness. They lost more patients, after which Jackson and Abby would step off to a quiet spot and mourn, but patients were no longer coming in at the same rate. The afternoon after they had their conversation, Abby called Marcus on the radio. He responded immediately.

“Abby, what's wrong?” Kane’s voice was full of fear. “What happened? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine…” She stumbled over her words. “No, I’m not fine. But I’m fine. I’ll be fine, eventually”

“What happened?”

“We lost our first patient,” Abby admitted. “Jackson and I didn’t take it too well”

“I heard. Catherine Poils. Her husband is…” Kane cleared his throat. “He's taking some time off from the guard. David Miller has been checking on him”

“Good. I miss you. It's tough. Jackson and I have seen the same few people all the time for…” She wracked her brain for the date. “...I haven't been paying attention to how long”

Kane chuckled on the other end. It was a happy sound, comforting to hear even if it was over the radio. “I can only imagine. I’ve got the opposite problem on my end. I’m seeing so many people that I can’t remember everything I need to do”

“The drawback of being chancellor. Everyone always wants your attention.”

“Tell me about it. It took me an hour to finish a simple conversation with Sinclair. People kept coming up to me with their… _stuff…_ and expecting me to listen. I mean, why should I care if Mrs. Clarence thinks that Amanda Yost is a bad influence on her son”

“Tommy?” Abby asked. “That boy is a menace. If anything, he’s the bad influence”

“I know,” Kane said. “I shouldn’t even complain about this to you, with everything you’re going through with…”

“No, it's okay. I kind of like it. It's nice to have a distraction for once. Not much other than doom and gloom here. Gossip is kind of appealing”

“Chancellor Griffin, are you encouraging gossip?”

Abby smiled so big, it seeped into her voice. “If it lightens the mood, I absolutely am”

Kane laughed in response. “Well, I will keep you updated. What else would the chancellor like to know?”

“How's our survey team?”

“I sent them out this morning to map sector three. Just thought there was no point in keeping here. They’re less likely to get sick out there than in here with all the sick people. Bellamy has kept in contact very consistently. Every hour, on the hour”

“Good to hear”

They sat in a comfortable silence for a moment, enjoying each other’s presence, even if over a radio.

“I wish there was some way I could check on you,” Kane muttered.

“You can call me on the radio anytime. I may not respond, but someone will and they’ll pass your message on”

“I wish I could see you,” he clarified. “Where are you now?”

“The office space in Medical,” answered Abby. “Why?”

She got no response.

“Marcus?”

Still no reply.

“Marcus?!?”

A loud banging on the window above her head surprised her suddenly. She jumped out of her seat, peering through the window.

Marcus was on the other side of the glass. 

“WHAT are you doing?” Abby said, tapping on the glass. “It’s not safe”

“I’m not inside and, unless I really don’t understand biology, diseases can’t penetrate glass”

She laughed. “No they can’t. But they can be carried out by breezes and I'm certain that medical is not airtight”

“Well, I’m okay with the risk if it means cheering you up,” he stuck out his tongue, making a funny face.

“Oh my god. You are really a child. A child is running our camp,” Abby pressed a hand up against the glass of the window. Marcus mirrored her motion on the outside. “Thank you”

“For what?”

“For this. For trying to cheer me up”

“It worked?” he asked.

“It worked,” she confirmed. “Now I just need to find a way to cheer Jackson up.”

“I can make a funny face,” Kane offered.

“Not sure that will work with Jackson,” Abby said.

“I could give it a shot? Or maybe juggling? I could juggle for him” 

From the main medical area, Abby heard Jackson shout her name.

“Speaking of Jackson, I have to get back to work,” Abby said, removing her hand from the glass. “Do this again sometime?”

“Absolutely”

Then she left him to deal with the emergency of the day.

They made it a habit over the next week, as the illness puttered out slowly. People were still getting sick, but everyday it got less and less. She found more time everyday to spend with Kane. He kept her updated on the gossip and she kept him updated on the state of her patients, celebrating victories and mourning losses. Things changed eight days after their first chat. 

Jackson came tearing into the room. “Abby, Kane’s on the radio and it's urgent."

She hopped up, running to the radio. She switched it on and opened the channel. “Marcus”

“Abby, switch to the private channel now,” he sounded scared.

She switched to the channel with shaky hands. “Marcus, I’m here”

“Dr. Griffin..” Monty’s voice cut through the channel. “We're coming back early. Bellamy and Raven are sick”

She could hear Raven coughing in the background and wheezing coming from Bellamy. 

Miller’s voice came over the radio next. “What do we do?”

She kept her voice calm and steady. “I need symptoms. Who’s sicker?”

“Bellamy, I think”

“What are his symptoms?”

“He’s wheezing and struggling for breath and he barely has the energy to move. He hasn’t kept any food down for an extended period of time” Miller’s voice was shaking. “We’ve been trying to get him to drink water, but it's a struggle”

“Just keep an eye on his breathing. If it stops… you know how to do chest compressions, right?”

“Yeah, I think so."

“Nathan, just stay calm. If it comes to it, I can walk you through the process. But let's hope it doesn’t come to that,” Abby said. “How’s Raven?”

“She's got a bad cough and she’s having some troubles breathing, but it's not nearly as bad as Bellamy,” Miller’s voice trembled violently. “No one else is sick though. We all improvised some masks, just in case.”

“Good thinking,” Abby said calmly. She had to reassure them that everything would be okay. “How far from camp are you?”

Monty spoke, with the help of Miller. “About 20 minutes, but I'm doing everything I can to shorten that time”

“Please drive safely,” Abby jumped at Kane’s voice. “I’d rather not have to send a team to pull all of you out of a ditch”

“Copy that, sir,” Monty said. Through the open channel Abby made out a sound in the background. The line went dead for a moment. 

“Rover, what just happened?” Kane asked formally.

“Monty, Nathan, what's going on?” Abby asked, considerably less kept together.

“Bellmay just stopped breathing. Nate’s doing chest compressions now,” Monty responded. 

“I don’t know if I’m doing them right,” Miller shouted. 

“Pass the radio to Nate,” Abby ordered. “Okay, Nathan, can you hear me?”

“Loud and clear”

“Tilt his head back. That'll open his airways a bit.”

“Okay, what's next?”

“Go about a hand's width below his collar bone. There, stack your hands on top of each other.”

“Done.”

“Now, every time I say a number, press down on his chest. You only need to press his chest down about two inches.”

“And breathing? Giving him air?”

“Don’t worry about that. There's not enough time,” Abby said. “Ready? One, two, three, four, five..”

She kept tempo for longer than she could keep track of. At some point, Jackson came in to take over for her so that she could prepare for their two new patients. She hopped back onto the radio to make a plan with Marcus.

“We need to expose as few people as possible...”

“I’ll make sure the guard clear a direct path from the gates to medical”

“And the team will have to quarantine...”

“I’m okay with that and they will be too”

“I don’t know if I can do this…”

Abby’s confession sent silence over the radio. On the other end Kane stuttered, uncertain of his words.

“Abby, you can do this. You’ve done it before. You saved so many other people. You can save them too”

“I’m so tired,” Abby muttered softly.

“How about, when this is all over, you and I take a day off and go down to the lake? Have a picnic and spend the day swimming?”

“I would like that,” Abby whispered.

“Good, then it's a date,” Marcus said.

Jackson rushed in. “They’re almost here.”

Abby turned away from the radio. “I’ll take care of Bellamy. You take care of Raven and move the others into observation”

“Abby, are you sure you want to take Bellamy…?”

“Yes, Jackson, I’m sure!” Abby exploded. She took a few deep breaths. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to… I’m tired and I miss Clarke and Marcus”

“Okay, I’ll make sure everything goes smoothly,” Jackson said. “But if you need any help…”

“I will call for you”

A nurse shouted from the entrance. “They're here”

The flaps that served as doors opened and Monty, Jasper, and Octavia stumbled in. Octavia was supported between the boys as she hobbled on a single leg.

“What happened?”

“I took a fall down a steep hill. But it can wait,” Octavia said, gritting her teeth. 

Jackson took charge. “Montgomery! Get them situated and take vitals”

“On it.”

Miller came in right behind the others, half-carrying a gasping Raven. “A little help”

“Over here,” Jackson directed him to a bed. “Go into the back with the others. A nurse will take care of you. I’ve got Raven”

Miller nodded, patting him on the arm. On the other side of the room, Abby waited impatiently at the door. A figure pushed through the flaps carrying Bellamy. Her heart sank in shock.

“Marcus?”

“Where do I put him?”

“You shouldn’t be here Marcus.”

“A conversation for later, Abby. What do I need to do?”

“You need to leave!”

“It's too late for that Abby. I’ve been exposed. Now, what do I need to do?”

“Set him down here. And do whatever I tell you,” Abby ordered. He did as she asked, following each order down to the letter. The medical world had always confused him and grossed him out a bit. He shut off his rational brain and just followed Abby’s orders, knowing that following orders was something he could do no matter the situation. Even putting squeamish instincts aside, he couldn’t help but flinch as Abby shoved a breathing tube down Bellamy’s throat and Bellamy’s body bucked violently. Abby dismissed him a short while later and sent him to her improvised office.

Abby had too many thoughts to keep Marcus around, so the moment she no longer needed his help she ordered him to wait in her office. She took her time finishing up with Bellamy, checking and double checking everything that she did. Bellamy stabilized quickly and, after checking on all the rest of her patients, she made her way into her office.

Kane was waiting there for her, seemingly unbothered by his situation.

“What were you thinking?” She shouted, hands shaking. 

“Abby… I…”

“You better have a good reason for being in her while healthy. This camp cannot afford you to be sick and I can’t take on anymore patients. Especially while I have two new ones in critical care and four in quarantine!” Abby punched his chest. He barely reacted. “You better give me a good reason”

“Someone had to get him inside and I couldn’t let anyone else be exposed to this…”

“So you exposed yourself? Because leaving our camp without a leader is _so_ much better than having a sick guard or two!” 

“Abby, it’s okay”

“No! It's not! You shouldn’t be here!” Abby’s voice broke and she let out a soft sob. “You might get sick”

“I already did”

The room was silent as Abby processed the news. “You were sick?” Marcus nodded. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because it was mild and I didn’t need you worrying unnecessarily,” Marcus cupped her face. “The council got together when this all started and laid out a plan in case any of us were sick or quarantined. Sinclair will cover for me...us… while I’m in here. We’ll use the radio to keep contact and every decision and update will be brought to us”

“You planned for this?” Abby asked.

“Of course I did,” He chuckled softly, inviting her into a hug. She accepted, nuzzling into his neck. “You didn’t think I was a reckless idiot, did you?”

“Maybe,” Abby muttered, breaking into a soft smile.

Jackson’s head poked through the door. “Abby…”

Abby pulled away from Marcus quickly, creating a space between them. “Yes?”

“I’m going to try to get some sleep, if that’s okay with you,” Jackson smiled awkwardly, well aware he had interrupted an intimate moment. “Just wanted to let you know”

“Get some sleep, Eric,” Abby’s whole demeanor turned maternal. “Thank you for everything”

Jackson nodded, leaving the room. Abby turned back to Marcus.

“I should go check on my patients,” Abby said.

“Yeah. I should talk to Sinclair,” Marcus replied.

“See you in a bit,” Abby smiled, then ducked out of the room.

They got lucky. The rest of the team fell sick with mild versions of the illness and Abby barely worried about them. She pestered them to sleep and made sure they were taking care of themselves. She was worried more about Bellamy and Raven, who made steady recoveries. Raven recovered quickly and was itching to leave the moments she felt better. Though Abby refused her request, she did put Raven to work around the medical center.

Bellamy, on the other hand, made a slower recovery. It made sense, since he came in sicker and had responded to the treatments very slowly. Abby had insisted on staying with him as much as possible, but Kane had pulled her off duty to make her sleep. She woke up to find the two chatting quietly, Bellamy looking considerably better. She had interrupted their conversation to take his vitals, then left them. 

A month after it all started, it ended.

Every member of their camp had gotten sick, Abby figured. Patients stopped coming in and, with the departure of Bellamy Blake, medical was completely clear of patients. She sent her whole team home with the orders of “go sleep and don’t come back until you have to”. Jackson promised to relieve her in a few hours and left, evidently eager for an uninterrupted night of sleep.

Abby receded to her office, exhausted. She hadn’t let herself fall apart up until that point, holding herself together for her patients. Alone, she broke down.

Her crying was interrupted by a sound in the main room.

“I’ll be there in just a moment,” she called.

“No need,” Marcus called back, peeking his head into her office. “Permission to enter?”

She nodded, patting the bed besides her. He entered with a basket in hand and a blanket slung over his shoulder.

“Picnic?” He asked, a goofy grin on his face.

“I’m on duty,” she responded meekly.

“Not anymore,” he pulled her arm. “One of the other nurses has assured me that she can take care of anything that comes up. And Lincoln is here too”

“Really?”

“Yes, Mrs. Chancellor”

That evening, as the sun set, they sat overlooking the lake. Their food had been long eaten and they sat in a comfortable silence.

“Thank you for this”

“Of course, Abby. You needed it,” Marcus said. “Besides, I promised”

“Well, I’d like to propose a toast,” Abby said, raising her water bottle.

“I’m pretty sure toasting with water is bad luck”

“Shut up!” Abby scolded. “I’d like to propose a toast to all those who couldn’t be here, wherever they may rest”

“And to the future. May it hold better things.” They both took a sip silently. Gazing out over the water, Marcus raised his bottle again. “To our camp”

“To our camp”


	12. Octavia: YOU'RE MY DAD (BOOGIE WOOGIE WOOGIE)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who’s Octavia’s dad?

Octavia Blake was well aware of how crazy the medical center could get. She was constantly hearing stories or passing through. She was quite glad her true calling was not in medicine. If it had been, she most likely would have been more insane then she already was. 

Abby’s weird genetic inventory program only made the place more crowded. She and Lincoln had been called in for their tests, but apparently something had happened and both Abby and Jackson had to step away. That meant that the small crowd of people that had been called in with their group had to wait for them to return. Which only raised Octavia’s anxiety level.

“It'll be alright, darling,” Lincoln whispered into her ear in Trigedasleng. She pressed into his side, trying not to let her true anxiety show. “After this, how about we work with Helios?”

“I’d like that,” she replied quietly. She felt Lincoln shift beside her. He was smiling at her proudly. “What?”

“Your Trig has improved tremendously,” he said. “There's still some things to teach you, though”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yes,” Lincoln whispered. 

“Like what?”

“Like…”

“Sorry for the delay everyone. We had an emergency to deal with,” Abby addressed the room. “Were going to start calling you in. It will move fairly quickly, so please be patient. So, Ashley Gotez, Dr. Jackson is ready for you in the other room. And David Miller, come with me”

Of course, Octavia had to be one of the last patients. She and Lincoln sat together, watching others come and go. Eventually, both doctors saw the last of the patients out and Jackson left, heading off to do other doctorly stuff.

“Sorry for the wait, Octavia. I know you probably have something else you’d rather do than sit here all day,” Abby smiled genuinely. “Don’t worry, this will be pretty quick”

Octavia knew she was supposed to move, but she couldn't. She stayed glued to the chair. 

“Would it be better if Lincoln came with you?” Abby asked. Octavia nodded shakily. Lincoln’s arm wrapped around her, guiding her out of the chair and into the exam room. “Alright, Octavia, if you’d just roll up your sleeve…”

“What?” Octavia’s head snapped up. “No. I thought this was a cheek swab. Not a needle. I can’t…”

Octavia got up to leave, but Lincoln grabbed her arm gently. “It's alright, Octavia”

“I can’t,” she said, hyperventilating.

“It’s alright to be afraid of needles, Octavia. It’s quite a normal fear. There are plenty of other people in this camp who are afraid of needles,” Abby said gently. “I won’t force you to do anything, but would it help if Lincoln did it as well? If you’re okay with it?”

“I am,” Lincoln replied. He sat down in the chair and didn’t bother hiding his nerves. From across the room, Octavia watched his every move. Her nerves hadn’t gone away, but they had certainly lessened. Before either of them truly realized it, Abby was done.

“All good, Lincoln”

“I barely felt a thing,” Lincoln said, amazed.

“It’s easy and painless. Nothing to worry about,” Abby said. “Now, in a moment or two, some information from your genetics will show up. I’ll explain everything. While we wait for that, lets do your test, Octavia”

Octavia sat down in the chair and offered Abby her arm. “What sorts of information will it provide?”

“Well,” Abby started, working as she spoke. “Blood type, any illnesses or genetic conditions you may have, any relations you have.”

“Could it tell me who my father is?” Octavia asked. 

“It's possible. If he’s still alive and has been tested, yes,” Abby moved away from Octavia. “I’ll run your sample. In the meantime, let's look over Lincoln’s results”

Abby took them through all the bits on the chart, but Octavia was barely listening. The prospect of meeting her father was terrifying. Octavia zoned back in for the last bit of information from Lincoln’s test. 

“Your hematocrit is pretty high, so you need to drink a lot of water”

“Is that dangerous?” Octavia asked.

“It’s a sign of dehydration. I don’t believe there's anything too urgent to worry about,” Abby said calmly. The computer behind her beeped. “Let me know if you don’t feel right, but it’s most likely nothing. Now, moving on to Octavia…”

She must have gone white as a sheet, as Lincoln looped an arm around her and Abby reached forward to steady her.

“Are you alright?” LIncoln asked.

“Fine,” Octavia waved them away. “Just nervous”

“Okay, well…” Abby turned back to the computer. “Well, most of this is stuff we already know. Your hematocrit levels are a little high as well, so drink some water when you get out of here. And you're not pregnant. Actually…”Abby glanced to Lincoln, “...it looks like you’re on or about to start your period, which means we need to schedule a followup to check on your contraceptive chip”

Octavia’s cheeks turned pink. Lincoln just shook his head. “It’s a natural part of life”

“That's right. And for genetic matches, you have…” Abby clicked a few buttons.“...huh…”

“What? Is something wrong?” Octavia asked. 

“Well, we were expecting Bellamy to come up as a match. He’s a half match, which makes sense, since you likely have different fathers,” Abby cleared her throat. “But there's a second match”

“What? Who?”

“It gives me sample numbers, so I’ll need to go in and find him,” Abby bit her lip. “Meet me back here at 9 tomorrow and I’ll bring him so you can meet”

With that, Octavia and Lincoln were ushered out of the room. That night, Octavia barely slept. She stared at the ceiling and ran every possible male she knew of through her head. There were plenty of options she would prefer over others. She found a bit of peace knowing Lincoln was not from the Ark and could be ruled out as a potential relative. But it was still terrifying to think she could be related to a random stranger in the halls. 

The next morning, at 9, she was sitting in the same exam room as the day before waiting to meet her father. Abby had directed her to the exam room and then had taken off without another word. Lincoln had agreed to stay outside in case her father was not the biggest fan of the grounders. She sat on the exam table, dangling her legs off the edge. 

The door to the exam room swung open and Abby walked in with Marcus Kane at her heels. Octavia locked eyes with him.

“Abby? What is this supposed to be about?”

“Well, I told you both that an unexpected match was found while taking genetic samples,” Abby said.

They filled in the gaps.

“No way!” Octavia said, jumping off the table.

Kane looked just as surprised. “Abby, that’s not possible”

“Did you ever have sex with Aurora Blake?” Abby asked.

“Geez Abby, straight to the hard questions,” Octavia said, masking her shock.

“It can’t…” Marcus turned from Abby to Octavia. “Is this a joke?”

“It’s not a joke, Marcus. Did you ever have sex with Aurora?” Abby said sternly. 

Marcus gaped like a fish out of water. He turned the color of a ripe tomato. “We were drunk. Really drunk. But it was one time and she said she had protection”

“So it is possible? It was in the right time range for you to be Octavia’s dad?”

“Yes,” Marcus muttered weakly. “Are you certain about the match, Abby?”

“Ran the test three times myself and had Jackson run it too”

Octavia broke her silence. “Of all the people on the Ark, it’s the one person I really didn’t want it to be. Just my luck”

Octavia could hear Marcus and Abby shouting behind her as she stormed out. She blindly made her way back to her room and dove on to the bed, curling up next to Lincoln.

“So who was it?”

“Kane, of all people,” Octavia muttered. “It had to be him. The universe hates me”

“Why do you say that?” Lincoln asked with genuine concern.

“He was the man who floated my mother. He pressed the button and made Bellamy and I watch as she died. And now he’s the only other family I’ve got”

“You have me. And Bellamy,” Lincoln reasoned.

Bellamy chose a great time to visit. “It’s Bellamy. Is everything alright?”

Octavia shouted in response, “Go away Bell”

“O, let me in. You don’t seem okay and I don’t think you should be alone”

“Go float yourself!” Octavia shouted back.

“Everything is okay, Bellamy. She just needs a minute,” Lincoln covered, looking down at Octavia with a soft smile. “You can go!”

“Let me know if you need me,” Bellamy shouted, then seemingly stepped away from the door. He exchanged a few words with someone outside the door, then left. 

“Thank you for covering for me,” Octavia muttered, snuggling into Lincoln’s side.

“That’s what I’m here for”

There was an abrupt knock at the door. “Octavia, we need to talk”

“Go away, Kane!” She could hear him shuffle outside the door. But he didn’t leave.

“Octavia please let me in. I’d rather not have this conversation through the door,” Kane shouted.

“So don’t!” Octavia yelled. She started to tell him to “go float himself”, but Lincoln stopped her.

“You need to have this conversation with him, no matter how you feel,” Lincoln reasoned. Before she could stop him, he was at the door, letting Kane in.

Octavia stood, moving to the corner of the room. She eyed Kane cautiously. 

Kane’s eyes darted to Lincoln, then back to Octavia. “Does he..?”

“I told him,” Octavia said flatly. “Why are you here?”

Lincoln looked between them. “I should leave”

“Please stay,” Octavia begged. He nodded, moving to her side and placing a hand on her back.

“It won’t be long,” Kane admitted, deflating. “Look, Octavia, it never crossed my mind that I could be your father. Your mother… there were so many others…”

“I know”

“...and we only did it once. I never thought that you were my child,” Kane wiped his face in his hands. “Oh, god, I floated the mother of my child”

Octavia nodded hesitantly, waiting for Kane to regain his composure. After a moment he spoke again.

“I never thought I would have a daughter. And so, I’m leaving it up to you on how we handle this information. If you want, I’ll forget this ever happened. But I will also be willing to own up to the title of you want me to”

Octavia stuttered. “I don’t…” She looked to Lincoln, panicked.

“It’s alright if you’re uncertain. I’ll back up whatever you choose and I’ll make sure that Kane doesn’t force you into anything…”

“I would never,” Kane interjected. 

“You should take some time and think this over,” Lincoln suggested. 

“Take as much time as you need. I won’t do anything until you tell me what you want to do,” Kane said. “ I have a council meeting I need to get to. Just… come find me when you know”

Octavia nodded. And with that Kane left.

It took two more weeks before Octavia made her decision. She and Kane hadn’t been avoiding each other, in fact they had bumped into each other more than normal that week and were both pleasant in their interactions, but their schedules rarely put them in the same room. Octavia found him one night in the chancellor’s office, Abby asleep on the couch. She poked her head through the open door, gently tapping on the door.

Kane made a “come in” motion, then moved his finger up to his lips. Octavia nodded in acknowledgement as she moved to his side. 

“Any progress on finding Clarke?” Ocatvia whispered.

“Not yet,” Kane said sadly. “But I got Abby to sleep soundly, which is a win on it’s own?”

“I bet”

“Any progress on your side?”

“About… the whole parenthood thing?” Octavia asked uncertainly. Kane just nodded. “That's why I’m here”

They both froze while Abby stirred in the corner. She settled back down and seemed to fall back into a deep sleep. 

“I gave it some thought and I don’t think we should tell anyone,” Octavia said. “I don’t feel this is important”

Kane’s face fell.

“No!” Octavia said forcefully, her eyes darting to the former chancellor to make sure she didn’t wake. “I just… I know how the people would judge us if they find out. That wouldn’t be fair to either of us”

“I understand. Your reasoning is extremely thoughtful. But you can still come to me if you need anything, understand?” Kane laid fatherly hand on Octavia’s shoulder.

“As long as I don’t have to call you dad”

Kane chuckled. “Not unless you want to. Now, get out of here before we wake the chancellor”

“Yes...dad”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not really a surprise. Fun fact: this reveal was supposed to be canon, but was cut for some reason (most likely relevancy or time)


End file.
